Wiesenthal Centre to 45 Human Rights Funding Agencies: "Refuse to Sponsor Antisemitism at Forthcoming United Nations Conference on Racism (aka 'Durban II')"

SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE - EUROPE
66 rue Laugier - 75017 Paris
Tel. +33-147237637 - Fax: +33-147208401
e-mail:csweurope@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wiesenthal Centre to 45 Human Rights Funding Agencies: "Refuse to Sponsor Antisemitism at Forthcoming UnitedNations Conference on Racism (aka 'Durban II')"

In a letter to the leading officials of 45 human rights funding agencies, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre urged themto publicly refuse their sponsorship to any group that had incited to antisemitism at the 2001United Nations World Conference against Racism (WCAR) held in Durban, South Africa,and that might seek their sponsorship or funding for the forthcoming Durban Review Conference ("Durban II").

The Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, and its Associate Dean, Rabbi AbrahamCooper, noted that the sponsors are "renowned for [their] support of human rights and anti-discrimination causes. Yet, the noble spirit enunciated in [their] mission statement wasnot consonant with funding for 'Durban I'". They continued, "Such funding was dramatically hijacked for incitement to hatred and violence. Indeed, subsidies for hate particularlyserved to raise the volume and pitch of antisemitic expression to levels unheard since the Holocaust."

Rabbi Cooper explained that "this takeover of 'Durban I' wasframed at its Preparatory Commissions (PrepComs) and reached a paroxysm of Jew-hatred at the final PrepCom in Tehran, from which Jewish organizations - as also Bahai, gay andseveral women's groups – were excluded. Regimes, most notorious for their human rights violations,had set the agenda. Yet, the most extreme exhibitions of threat and violence were manifested by NGOs funded perhaps by your organization or its peers."

Dr Samuels stated that "the Working Group preparing 'DurbanII' is led by such states as Libya, Iran, Cuba, pointing to – at best – arepeat performance. 'Durban I' set a new baseline for antisemitic violence around the globe. 'Durban II' must not be allowed to become another racisthatefest."

He added that "the Simon Wiesenthal Centre was the only Jewishorganization elected to the WCAR NGO Forum International Steering Committee. There, we were dubbed 'the World Jew' and subsequently expelled. Physical intimidation and hecklingobstructed any discussion of antisemitism while neo-Nazi slogans, caricatures and texts were displayed at every, ostensibly, 'anti-racist' demonstration. That experiencebesmirched the good name of the United Nations and of all the "Durban I" funding agencies and sponsors."

The Centre called on each of the sponsors to "publicly declare [their] refusal to sponsor or subsidize anygroup, NGO or government that has incited to antisemitism by demonizing, delegitimizing or discriminating against the Jewish people or individual Jews, whatever theirnationality.

Such behaviour includes the denial of the Holocaust and assaults upon the right of Jews to their sovereignidentity within the family of nations."

The letter urged that this commitment "reflect the 2004 Working Definition of Antisemitism formulated by theEuropean Monitoring Centre (now known as the Fundamental Rights Agency), and the 2004 Berlin Declaration on Antisemitism of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE)."

Samuels and Cooper alerted the sponsors that, "should [their] organization, indeed, sponsor such behaviour in'Durban II', [they] would not only violate these international instruments and betray [their] fiduciary responsibility; [they] would be considered complicit in the instigation ofpotential hate-crime and its consequences."

The letter concluded, "Charity in the name of anti-racism cannot, once again, be abused by racists andhatemongers. We await your response."

For further information, please contact Shimon Samuels at +33.609.77.01.58 or Rabbi Abraham Cooper at+1.310.210.9750