Statement from Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The United Nations rose from the ashes of the Holocaust, built on the promise that human dignity and fundamental rights would never again be denied to any people. For Jews, that promise was not abstract, it was a lifeline, a vow that their suffering would not be repeated or forgotten.
The memory of the 2001 Durban conference lingers like a bruise. What was meant to be a gathering against racism became, for Jews, a stage for old hatreds in new disguise. Jewish participants faced harassment, and antisemitic conspiracies found fertile ground. The promise of solidarity was overshadowed by hostility toward Israel and Zionism.
Twenty-five years later, that history cannot simply be set aside.
The struggle against racism loses its soul when it turns a blind eye to antisemitism. It is not enough for international bodies to denounce hatred in the abstract; they must have the courage to confront it when it festers in their own halls.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center calls on the UN to reckon honestly with the antisemitic legacy of Durban and to ensure that its anti-racism efforts shield Jewish communities with the same vigilance and resolve shown to all others.
Any institution that claims to fight racism must be willing to face the antisemitism woven into its own story. If it cannot, its promise of universal human rights rings hollow.