NJDC: U.S. Correct to Boycott Durban II
Listed in: Israel, Other Foreign Policy, GOP Hypocrisies, Stop the Smears, NJDC News, Press Releases
Stanley: The Obama administration has maintained a strong and consistent policy regarding its Durban II attendance since it originally outlined its concern in February.
WASHINGTON, DC - Marc R. Stanley, Chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC), released the following statement:
The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) applauds President Barack Obama’s decision to boycott the United Nation’s conference on racism (Durban II). The Obama administration has maintained a strong and consistent policy regarding its Durban II attendance since it originally outlined its concern in February. Those who claimed otherwise were wrong at the time they attacked the administration and remain wrong today.
Obama’s critics were incorrect and perhaps disingenuous in their predictions that the President would not follow through on his commitment to boycott an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel conference. We now expect that even the Republicans in the Jewish community will join NJDC in commending the President for making the correct decision regarding Durban II.
The issues of racism and discrimination must be addressed in a proper and constructive manner. Regretfully, this conference has begun to mirror the Durban I conference and is once again serving as a platform for hate and anti-Israel propaganda. It was particularly insensitive for the conference organizers to give Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, an opportunity to address the conference today on the eve of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. With Ahmadinejad’s history of anti-Israel rhetoric and his address today that labeled Israel as the “most cruel and racist regime,” the conference makes a mockery of its purported goal to fight for human rights and end racial discrimination around the world.
The decision to boycott Durban II is just the latest example of actions of a president who has proven to be a true friend of the Jewish community and Israel. NJDC is proud that the U.S., along with Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, Israel, and Italy, has boycotted the U.N.‘s conference on racism, sending a strong a message that this conference should never serve as a platform for offensive and anti-Semitic views.
