THE PLANK APRIL 23, 2009
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To illustrate the point I made in my article yesterday -- about how the dynamics of Durban I have been reversed in Durban II, with pro-Israel activists vastly outnumbering and out-organizing anti-Israel activists -- here are two photos:
The first photo (above) is of a pro-Israel rally held in the plaza right outside the UN complex, which included hundreds of people waving Israeli flags and holding placards with slogans like "End Double Standards! Stop Demonizing Israel!!' and "Teach Children Love, Not Hate." Activists had been flown in from across Europe to attend the rally -- particularly Christian supporters of Israel. Pro-Israel speakers presented from a big stage at the front, their words booming across the pavillion. The prime location ensured most of the day's departing delegations saw the demonstration. Interesting stat, courtesy of the JTA: Between them, the French and European Jewish student groups had 370 members accredited, amounting to more than one-third of all the NGO activists at the conference.
The second picture (above) is of an anti-Israel protest that occured a mile or so away from the conference, on a deserted strip along the Lake Geneva boardwalk. The protest, organized by a coalition of Iranian NGOs, featured giant placards chronicling the timeline of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, as well as dozens of large photos of Palestinian casualties from the invasion. They distributed "Maps of Palestine" booklets and pens emblazoned with a "Jewish star = Swastika" logo. A half-dozen activists toted signs calling Israel an apartheid state and comparing Zionism to racism. Other activists from the NGOs stopped passers-by to tell them, in broken English, about "the Israeli boycott of Gaza" (I think they meant "blockade"). In the 15 minutes I was there, I'd say 20 people stopped by. This is certainly not Durban I.
--Zvika Krieger
6 comments
Durban I was presumed to be an anti-racism conference. I don't think many people had much awareness, a-priori, of what it would be like. I think most participants went there in good faith, imagining they were there to fight and prevent RACISM. They were quite unprepared for the antisemites, who had come fully prepared and mobilized to divert the agenda in their own particularist interests. And who succeeded in changing the dynamics of that conference, from being anti-racist to being pro-antisemitic. It was an attempted revolution, in the Orwellian sense, of meanings and emphasis. The end result was that the conference, in hindsight, became synonymous with rabid antisemitism, and anything that came out of it was tainted by this perception.
Now with Durban II, its established agenda was the consolidation of Durban-I's antisemitic "achievements". So this time the focus by groups was on restoring meaning to the term "Racism" by fighting an antisemitic conference.
BTW, I consider Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial Conference to be a direct sequel to Durban I. And his appearance as a key-note speaker in Durban II, harping on the same themes, is proof enough that the organizers of Durban II were following the same logic, too.
www.terrorism-info.org.il/.../as_h_denial_e.htm
- noga1
April 23, 2009 at 9:14am
A big difference was that the Ford Foundation took it on the chin for funding the "politically correct" hate groups of Durban I and as a result the money for the anti-Semitic NGOs for Durban II got scarce.
- nbarry
April 23, 2009 at 10:43am
Thanks for marshalling all your posts.
- basman
April 23, 2009 at 11:19am
This is a nice piece of news. I am glad you are getting a nice opportunity to enjoy Geneva.
- blackton
April 23, 2009 at 12:43pm
Hey Noga1, good post. Definitely, that sounds like how the mechanics worked. Good complementary take on the post itself.
- jobeek2
April 23, 2009 at 4:38pm
Many blogers seem to have missed this:
Liveblogging Durban II, III
Your View, April 23rd 2009, 1:35 pm
"This is a guest post by UJS Students in Geneva"
"So far today, two Jewish students from the UK have been subjected to antisemitic abuse: both around themes of Jews controlling the world, being hated by non-Jews and a more serious incident involving accusations of Jewish responsibility for slavery. Racism at this ‘anti-racism’ conference has become too common but the complete lack of interest in fighting it is worse.
Comments and abuse are not the only change in atmosphere today. This afternoon we will see the start of the NGO statements on the conference which will no doubt be littered with more abuse. Alongside those statements we’ve seen a proliferation in side events and dodgy literature.
One side event of particular interest is being hosted by the IHRC with a smattering of the usual UK faces. The speaker list is Chair Mr Mohideen Abdul Kader, Ms Asma Jahangir, Mr Babacar, Mr Doudo Diene , Dr Daud Abdullah, Mr Michel Warschawski, Mr Massoud Shadjareh, Imam Achmad Cassiem – certainly some familiar names. Updates from that when we hear them.
I’ve picked up one piece of literature of particular interest to those of us from the UK; entitled Dignity and Justice for the Palestinian People. It calls for the total eradication of “Israel’s racist regime” and makes clear (even underlining the point) that it refers to the struggle of “the entire Palestinian people in historic Palestine (OPT and Israel) and in exile.” The booklet is supported by PACBI, BRICUP, PSC, Palestine Return Centre and bizarrely the Development Planning Unit of the University of Central London amongst a host of others.
This conference has certainly taken a turn for the worse…again!"
www.hurryupharry.org/.../liveblogging-durban-ii-iii
- jacksondyer
April 23, 2009 at 6:35pm