IJV-VJI Press Release – April 20, 2009

Canadian Jews denounce attempts to derail Durban Review

As Canadian Jews, we are attending the Durban Review of the World Conference Against Racism in Geneva, April 20 -24 because we are concerned about all expressions of racism.

From its inception, Israel has been a colonialist project systematically violating the rights of the Palestinian people. For us, the Holocaust legacy “Never again” applies to all peoples. So we must protest the fact that the State of Israel causes immeasurable suffering to the Palestinian people. It is crucial that the Durban Review Process be able to hold Israel accountable to the international community for its war crimes.

We denounce the campaign by Jewish organizations and Canadian politicians to destroy the Durban Review Conference through escalating intimidation and fear tactics.

We oppose any act of hatred against Jews. But we condemn pro-Israeli groups which lay false charges of anti-semitism against legitimate criticism of the state of Israel. Their campaign is designed to deflect attention from Israel’s flagrant violations of international and humanitarian law.

The Durban Review offers a fitting forum in which to honour those who died in the holocaust. At the Review, nearly all of the nations of the world will gather to affirm their commitment to implementing the Durban Declaration and Programmed of Action, with its essential mandate to “end racism in all its forms.”

Rather than boycotting the Durban Review, governments should be supporting all victims of crimes against humanity. We support their just claims to reparations and other forms of compensation.

Canada’s new international face

As the last months have shown Canada has taken on a new international face- which includes boycotting the Durban2 Review conference on Racism and Discrimination. Along with Israel, Canada accuses the conference of propagating and allowing antisemtism.

As Independent Jewish Voices -Canada’s coordinator, who was present for Durban 1, Diana Ralph writes:

“In October, I attended the U.N. Second Substantive Session of the Preparatory Committee for the Durban Review Conference in Geneva. As a Jew, I went to assess the validity of the Canadian government’s charges that Durban II is anti-Semitic. I found no trace of anti-Semitism there. Instead, I witnessed delegates of the world’s nations hammering out an inspiring call to end racism worldwide and implement the Durban agreements.”

Idependant Jewish Voices- Canada will be among the few alternative jewish voices at the conference, and our voices are being heard as we point out the faults  and grave human errors being made in characterizing initiatives such as WCAR as an “anti-Semitic hate fest”.  We can not let such abusive use of racism against the jews continue to stifle all well founded criticisms and denunciations, including those by israelis themselves, of the Israeli  brand of colonialism.  Palestinian efforts to name and fight against the crippling social and economic noose around their necks cannot simply be dismissed as “anti-Semitic”.

It seems we as Jews have a short memory.  Unfortunately, due to our constant calls for the rememberance of our dead and dispossessed – we have lost the ability to recognize in what is taking place in Israel.

They defend Israeli discriminatory practices, and condemn the “use of human rights language to discredit a state” (i.e. Israel). They object to the term “Islamophobia,” because, they say, religions aren’t protected, as though targeting Muslims for being Muslims is less offensive than attacking Jews for being Jewish. And they support anti-Arab racial profiling in the name of fighting “terrorism”.