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Euroasian Jewish News
Address of Alexander Mashkevich to the members of the General Council of EAJC
05.03.2009
 Dear Colleagues!
I urge you to thoughtfully and tactfully warn the governments and foreign affairs ministries of your countries away from participating in the World Conference Against Racism, due to be held by the UN in Geneva on 20-21 of April of 2009.
I would like to remind you that in 2001, the First Durban Conference Against Racism did not merely criticize Israel, but was directly aimed at the delegitimization of the State of Israel. At the same time, real manifestations of racism in different regions of the world were practically ignored.
The second conference, judging by the preliminary projects of its final documents and a series of international consultations, is going to take the same position, a position unacceptable for us. Recently, we all took part in the Plenary Assembly of the World Jewish Congress, where a special session was devoted to his question. We all actively discussed the resolution on the Durban conference and unequivocally supported its final version. Today we must act on our own decision.
I am urging you to be persistent, and to convince the governments of your countries not to take part in the Second Durban Conference. I am certain that for all sensible people, a situation in which a conference with an enormous international status ignores obvious manifestations of racism in certain countries and mounts a furious attack upon a country that desires only to keep its citizens safe from inhuman terror, is unacceptable and inadmissible.
I recommend to be as convincing as possible when addressing the governments of your countries and their foreign affairs ministries, so that we do not allow the repetition of the first Durban conference, the results of which led to an upsurge among anti-Semites of all kinds, and to the confusion and shame of people of good will.
We, who constantly express our solidarity with the people and democratic government of Israel, do not wish to repeat the Durban disgrace.
Alexander Mashkevich,
President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress
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