THE DURBAN CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM

IHRC (Islamic Human Rights Commission) sent a team to attend the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban (Aug-Sept 2001).

Three out of the team of twelve were anti-zionist Orthodox Rabbis from the Neuteri Karta. In this lecture Massoud Shadjareh describes what happened and how the NGO conference managed to achieve its historic declaration condemning zionism as racism and Israel for genocide, resulting in a US/Israel walkout. The lecture is in two parts (to accommodate prayer time in between), each part is about 25 minutes long.Orthodox Jews and pro-Palestinian supporters united in

a protest march against zionism in Durban, South Africa, Friday Aug. 31, 2001 to coincide with the opening of the UN Racism Conference. The series of photographs on the banner show Mohammed al-Dura, 12, crouching behind his father Jamal al-Dura with Israeli forces shooting at them (September 2000). Mohammed was shot dead by the Israelis, the murder was captured on video. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

Rabbi Mordecai Weberman (R) and Massoud Shadjareh (L) (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)

We were standing with the Rabbis with placards, each holding the others shoulders and walking through the NGO campus and saying that we have come united shoulder to shoulder united against zionism. We were giving 30-35 interviews a day... And the message we were giving was very clear, both ourselves and the Rabbis were giving the same exact message: We were saying that the way you got rid of apartheid and black and white could start living together, if you get rid of zionism then we have no problem living together either here or anywhere else, we don't have anything inherently against each other, we have lived together for generations in the past and there is no reason why we cannot live for generations together in the future, but its the evil of zionism which is actually preventing this. The Rabbis were giving talks on that, we were giving talks on that. Every single night we didn't get to our home and able to go to bed before 12:30 - 1:30 because we were giving talks all everywhere... And I think in many ways this was the turning point in the whole conference because the one thing we went down there to remove is the fear that the minute you stand against zionism you are going to be accused of being anti-Semitic and we wanted to remove this fear and we felt if we remove this fear and expose this then ordinary NGOs will stand up on the right side and this is exactly what happened... The NGO declaration included : zionism is racism, Israel is an apartheid state, and Israel has committed 'genocide'... At this point the Americans and Israelis decided its too much for them and got up and left..."

Source: http://www.inminds.co.uk/durban-conference.html