International efforts to prevent the Israeli and American delegations from quitting the World Conference Against Racism in Durban are strongly underway, and it appeared until early this evening that they would bear fruit. A Norwegian compromise proposal suggested that the final resolutions not use the words \"apartheid\" or \"racism,\" nor should they condemn Israel by name. They would, however, mention the Palestinians outright. It is being reported, however, that the compromise has not been accepted, and the U.S. delegation will apparently leave this evening.
Even Amr Mussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said he supports the search for a compromise that will prevent the American and Israeli walkouts, but insisted that in any event, the Conference\'s final resolution \"must relate to the Israeli policy.\" A resolution accepted yesterday by the non-government organizations called Israel a \"racist apartheid state,\" and accused it of \"carrying out racist crimes, including war crimes, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.\"
Additional Durban conferences against racism are scheduled for three, five, and ten years from now, all to be funded by the United Nations.
Because Israel did not send a high-level delegation to the conference, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Mordechai Yedid delivered the speech that Deputy Foreign Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior was to have given. Yedid said, \"The Jewish People is the nation that gave the world the concepts of equality and dignity for all men… Zionism is merely the dream of the Jewish nation to return and live in its land... When people condemn Zionists, they mean Jews...\" This last point was once made by Martin Luther King, who wrote,
\"...You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely \'anti-Zionist.\' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God\'s green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - this is God\'s own truth... All men of good will exult in the fulfillment of God\'s promise, that his People should return in joy to rebuild their plundered land. This is Zionism, nothing more, nothing less... And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is anti-Semitism... Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - make no mistake about it.\"
-- from \"This I Believe: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.\" (New York, 1971), pp. 234-235.
Even Amr Mussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said he supports the search for a compromise that will prevent the American and Israeli walkouts, but insisted that in any event, the Conference\'s final resolution \"must relate to the Israeli policy.\" A resolution accepted yesterday by the non-government organizations called Israel a \"racist apartheid state,\" and accused it of \"carrying out racist crimes, including war crimes, genocide, and ethnic cleansing.\"
Additional Durban conferences against racism are scheduled for three, five, and ten years from now, all to be funded by the United Nations.
Because Israel did not send a high-level delegation to the conference, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General Mordechai Yedid delivered the speech that Deputy Foreign Minister Rabbi Michael Melchior was to have given. Yedid said, \"The Jewish People is the nation that gave the world the concepts of equality and dignity for all men… Zionism is merely the dream of the Jewish nation to return and live in its land... When people condemn Zionists, they mean Jews...\" This last point was once made by Martin Luther King, who wrote,
\"...You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely \'anti-Zionist.\' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain tops, let it echo through the valleys of God\'s green earth: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - this is God\'s own truth... All men of good will exult in the fulfillment of God\'s promise, that his People should return in joy to rebuild their plundered land. This is Zionism, nothing more, nothing less... And what is anti-Zionist? It is the denial to the Jewish people of a fundamental right that we justly claim for the people of Africa and freely accord all other nations of the Globe. It is discrimination against Jews, my friend, because they are Jews. In short, it is anti-Semitism... Let my words echo in the depths of your soul: When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews - make no mistake about it.\"
-- from \"This I Believe: Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.\" (New York, 1971), pp. 234-235.