Presents

What the United Nations Does on the Holiest Day
of the Jewish Calendar, Yom Kippur:

Provides a global platform to encourage hatred and violence against the Jewish State

October 9, 2008

Geneva, the Durban II “anti-racism” conference Preparatory Committee

Watch video here.
Durban II: A Conference to demonize Israel
October 9, 2008: The planning committee of an “anti-racism” conference listens politely to the racism coming from the Syrian Arab Republic, and BADIL, a Palestinian NGO

EYEontheUN videos are produced by Anne Bayefsky and Lana Zizic.

Antisemitism at the UN under the guise of “combating racism”

Iran – a Vice-President of the Durban II PrepCom – thinks the antisemitism expressed by the Iranian President is not relevant

October 10, 2008

Geneva, the Durban II “anti-racism” conference Preparatory Committee

Watch video here.
More attempts to silence NGOs

October 6, 2008: Anne Bayefsky (Joint Statement of the Hudson Institute, the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, and the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists)

EYEontheUN videos are produced by Anne Bayefsky and Lana Zizic.

Full Asian text:   http://blog.unwatch.org/wp-content/uploa…
CONTRIBUTION OF THE ASIAN REGION TO THE DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE, 8 OCT 2008

Selections:

From preamble:

Recalling the 2001 Tehran Declaration and Programme of Action by the Asian Preparatory Meeting… [This text contained the most vitriolic language against Israel.]

From operative section:

18. Recognize Jerusalem as a city of reverence and religious sanctity for three major religions of the world and call for an international effort to bring foreign occupation, together with all its racial practices, to an end, especially in holy shrines dear to the three religions;

19. Reaffirm that a foreign occupation founded on settlements, its laws based on racial discrimination with the aim of continuing domination of the occupied territory, as well as its practices, which consist of reinforcing a total military blockade, isolating towns, cities and villages under occupation from each other, totally contradict the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and constitute a serious violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, a new kind of apartheid, a crime against humanity, a form of genocide and a serious threat to international peace and security;

26. Express deep concern at the plight of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons who were forced to leave their homes because of war and racial policies of the occupying power and who are prevented from returning to their homes and properties because of a racially based law of return, and recognize the right of return of the Palestinian refugees as established by the General Assembly in its resolutions, particularly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, and call for their return to their homeland in accordance with and in implementation of this right;

27. Re-emphasize the responsibility of the international community to provide international protection for the Palestinian people under occupation against aggression, acts of racism, intimidation and denial of fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, liberty and self-determination;

68. Express deep regret the practices of racial discrimination against the Palestinians as well as other inhabitants of the Arab occupied territories which have an impact on all aspects of their daily existence such as to prevent the enjoyment of fundamental rights, express our deep concern about this situation and renew the call for the cessation of all the practices of racial discrimination to which the Palestinians and the other inhabitants of the Arab territories occupied by Israel are subjected;

69. Reiterate that the Palestinian people continue to be denied the fundamental right of self determination and urge member States to look at the situation of Palestinian people during the Durban Review Conference and implement the provisions of DDPA with a view to bring lasting peace in the Middle East;

***

THE UN WATCH asks   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and rights commissioner Pillay   to denounce denounce now this vitriolic Asian text accusing Israel of “apartheid and genocide.”

Geneva, October 10, 2008 — To prevent the derailing of a world conference on racism, independent human rights group UN Watch today called on UN chief Ban Ki-moon and rights commissioner Navi Pillay to immediately denounce a submission by Asian states that accuses Israel of “racial practices” against Palestinians, “a new kind of apartheid, a crime against humanity, a form of genocide,” as well as “aggression, acts of racism, and intimidation.”   (See full text below.)

“The Asian submission for the Durban 2 declaration reproduces almost verbatim the vitriolic incitement and hateful rhetoric of demonization that was produced at the Tehran planning meeting at the 2001 lead-up to the original Durban debacle,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based UN Watch.

“This was the poison that with supreme diplomatic efforts was mostly removed from the final Durban declaration — only after European states showed their readiness to walk out — but was adopted by the non-governmental forum, in a text that High Commissioner Mary Robinson summarily refused to forward to the UN, and which was denounced again last week by High Commissioner Pillay as a betrayal of the anti-racism cause.”

“The key lesson learned from 2001 was that the UN’s highest officials cannot stay silent until the very end, but must rather act immediately to denounce the language of incitement and demonization as soon as it rears its ugly head,” said Neuer.

“The fingerprints of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who openly calls for the destruction of a UN member state, are all over this text. Governments and UN officials who want to safeguard the principles of human rights and the anti-racism cause must speak out forcefully, and fast,” said Neuer.

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the U.K., the Netherlands and other states have expressly warned that a repeat of the 2001 hateful rhetoric would force them to walk out of the April 2009 conference, and so the 53 Asian states who did this now bear full responsibility for the consequences of their provocation. Those who will suffer, however, will be the world’s millions of victims of racism and ethnic intolerance, from Darfur to Chechnya to Tibet.”

***

www.SustainabiliTank.info suggests humbly that during the time that Jerusalem was in Arab hands it was not a city equally accessible to all religions. Since the end of the British Mandate, it was only with the Israeli Government reclaiming its Capital of yore that the city is equaly accessible to all religions and the present circumstances in the Islamic world are no show of confidence that such freedom is possible under any other rule – be assured that also not if it were a UN city.  

If the UNSG does not speak up on the Durban issue, this endangers not just the Jewish people, but the basic credibility of the UN itself – the international marshmallow when the topic is Human Rights versus the Power of Arab League Oil Money.
=================

News Resources – Israel and the Mideast:

• Gaza Tunnel Owners Register with Hamas, Get Electricity
  Owners of the scores of tunnels running under the Gaza-Egypt border have registered with the Hamas authorities, pledged to pay workers’ compensation and hooked up their operations to the electricity network. In one place, dozens of large tents, each marking a tunnel work site, were pitched just yards from an Egyptian watchtower beyond the border wall. Hamas inspectors are notified of each delivery and check it on site. Officials from the municipality of Rafah confirmed they supervise tunnel operations. (PMC-PA)
• Rise in Number of Israeli Arab IDF Recruits in 2008 – Yoav Stern
  The number of Israeli Arab Bedouin recruits to the IDF has increased dramatically in the first nine months of 2008. The number is estimated to have increased by 50 to 100 from the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of recruits in 2008 to some 300. The rate of non-Bedouin Arabs’ recruitment has also increased in recent years. The law exempts non-Druze Arab citizens from compulsory military service.
  Lt. Amir Juamis, 27, of Beit Zarzir, who commands a military team, was asked how he feels about fighting with his people on the other side of the border. He said: “A terrorist is a terrorist. Islam doesn’t say you have to kill. He comes to kill here and can kill a Jew or an Arab. It’s my duty to prevent that.” (Ha’aretz)
• Iranian Boy to Undergo Surgery in Israel – Nurit Felter
  A 12-year-old Iranian boy suffering from brain cancer is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Friday for emergency surgery. The boy, who already underwent surgery in Tehran, was later admitted to a Turkish hospital. The Turkish doctors suggested the family seek medical assistance in Israel, and so they did, through Israeli liaison Jacob Levin. “When a child’s life is at stake, religion and origin play no part,” said Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit. “If we can help, we are more than willing to do so.” (Ynet News)

Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):

• The President Who Will Deal with Iran – Michael Gerson
  Economic downturns are wrenching but cyclical. Nuclear proliferation is more difficult to reverse, creating the permanent prospect of massive miscalculation and tragedy. America’s next leader may be known to history as the president who had to deal with Iran. Former chief UN weapons inspector David Kay says the Iranian regime is about 80% of the way toward its nuclear goals – perhaps two to four years from “effective, deployable weapons.”
  Kay believes that by simply saying a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, America is set up for a choice between “suicide” (a disastrous military attack on Iran) and “humiliation” (a galling acceptance of the unacceptable). Instead, Kay calls for a new round of “skillful diplomacy” to persuade Iran to stop at what he calls “virtual capability” – a global recognition that it could produce nuclear weapons in short order, without all the drawbacks caused by actually producing those weapons.
  Kay seems resigned to a policy of containment – holding Iran directly responsible if it transfers nuclear weapons to terrorists, providing nuclear guarantees to our friends in the region so they don’t feel pressured to develop their own. The problem with this approach? Iran may be a different proliferation threat from any we have faced before. The regime cultivates ties to violent nonstate proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories. Iran’s religious radicalism introduces an unpredictable element of irrationality. The writer, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, served as a policy adviser and chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush from 2000 to 2006. (Washington Post)
• Iran’s Political Motivation for Ridiculing the Holocaust Again – Richard L. Cravatts
  Iranian and Arab Holocaust denial has been growing in incidence, and particularly as part of Ahmadinejad’s strategy. The Muslim world has taken this revisionist effort to another level: accusing Zionism of creating and perpetuating the Holocaust lie for the express purpose of justifying Israel’s creation and the subsequent subjugation of the Palestinians.
  Muslims want the occurrence of the Holocaust to be proven false to eliminate the cataclysmic social and political event that led the world to accept and endorse the creation of the Jewish state. It is also politically expedient to position the Palestinians as the ultimate victims among victimized peoples, and this is much easier without the inexpressible evil of the Holocaust as core element of Israel’s tragic heritage. (History News Network)
• Islamic Leaders Seek to End Jewish Sovereignty in Israel – Ron Ben-Yishai
  An examination of the words uttered and written by the leaders of Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas, and even Syria, easily reveals their aspirations. Their strategy has a clear and defined long-term objective – bring about Israel’s end as a sovereign Jewish entity – as well as two intermediate objectives.
  The first midterm goal is to make Israeli society crumble on the inside, in a bid to prompt Jews to emigrate and undermine their motivation to defend themselves, to the point where one military blow (either nuclear or conventional) would suffice to achieve the final objective. The second midterm goal is to gradually minimize Israel’s territory, in a manner that would turn our population into a convenient and concentrated target for mortar shells, rockets, missiles, and terror attack, while making it difficult for the IDF to offer protection. This territorial objective also has a religious aspect: Liberating every centimeter of land, which in their view belongs to Muslims. (Ynet News)
• UK Prime Minister Lauds Israel as “Symbol of Hope” – Jonny Paul
  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the tenacity and achievements of the Jewish people on Monday and said that Israel is “a symbol of hope from which all the world can learn.” Brown told the United Jewish Israel Appeal, “For 2,000 years, until 1948, the persistent call of the Jewish people was ‘next year in Jerusalem.’ For 2,000 years there was not one piece of land anywhere in the whole world that you could call your own.”
  “For 2,000 years you had history but not a home. For 2,000 years you lived in the artistic and cultural and intellectual and scientific and political realm of every continent but you had no home. For 2,000 years you endured pogroms in so many countries, then the horror of the Holocaust – which is the shame of mankind – because you had no home yet for 2,000 years, yet nothing – no prison cell, no forced migration, no violence, not even the Holocaust itself – could ever break the spirit of a people yearning to be free.”
  “What remarkable achievements Israel has achieved,” he said. “A history of ingenuity that is a lesson to the boundless capacity of mind and spirit. Eight citizens have already been awarded Nobel prizes. In Israel today, there are more hi-tech industries, more symphony orchestras, more universities and research institutions than countries that are 100 times the size of Israel. The language of the Bible made the living tongue again, so your story, the story of Israel, is the symbol I identify with as a symbol of hope from which all the world can learn.” (Jerusalem Post)
• The Financial Crisis and the Arab World – Jonathan Spyer
  The seven stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf states shed around $150 billion of their capitalization in the course of the past week. The Arab world may well prove particularly vulnerable to the world economic downturn since a disproportionately large amount of Arab wealth is invested in global stock markets. The Kuwait Investment Authority, for example, placed a $2b. investment in Merrill Lynch last year. Merrill Lynch, of course, no longer exists. Instead of investing in education and in industry, money has been gambled on the stock markets, or invested in glittering real-estate projects, built by foreign labor and using foreign know-how. The writer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Center, Herzliya. (Jerusalem Post)