Archives|THE RACISM WALKOUT: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. AND ISRAELIS QUIT RACISM TALKS OVER DENUNCIATION
THE RACISM WALKOUT: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. AND ISRAELIS QUIT RACISM TALKS OVER DENUNCIATION
By RACHEL L. SWARNS SEPT. 4, 2001
The United States and Israel walked out of the United Nations meeting on racism here tonight, denouncing a condemnation of Israel in a proposed conference declaration and lamenting that a meeting intended to celebrate tolerance and diversity had degenerated into a gathering riven by hate.
South Africa rushed tonight to convene emergency meetings to redraft the declaration and program of action in the hope of averting other walkouts, and a spokesman for the European Union delegation, which also raised concerns, said its diplomats would take part in the efforts to rewrite the draft documents.
In announcing his decision in Washington, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said, ''I have taken this decision with regret because of the importance of the international fight against racism and the contribution that the conference could have made to it.''
''But following discussions today by our team in Durban and others who are working for a successful conference, I am convinced that will not be possible,'' he said.
Secretary Powell said negotiators here had failed to persuade Arab delegates to remove criticism of Israel from proposed conference documents that assail ''the racist practices of Zionism'' and describe Israel's treatment of Palestinians as a ''new kind of apartheid.''
Questions about whether Israel should be condemned for its treatment of Palestinians and whether the West should pay reparations for slavery and colonialism have roiled conference preparations for months. Washington has said repeatedly that it would not consider language that criticized Israel or legitimized reparations for descendants of slaves.
The fact that the United States did not send Secretary Powell to the conference, which opened on Friday, was a sore point with many of the countries represented here. The United States and Israel both sent mid-level delegations.
The decision to withdraw even those delegations dashed the hopes of thousands who have brought their fight against intolerance to a country chosen by conference organizers for its remarkable story of racial reconciliation.
Olivier Alsteens, spokesman for the European Union delegation, said it had no immediate plans to withdraw, ''But if at one moment, we feel there is no other opportunity, then we will leave all together.''
The American and Israeli pullout was warmly applauded by Jewish groups but greeted with great regret by South Africa and other developing countries and with anger by black Americans and their supporters. It seemed likely only to heighten the frustration and divisions between the increasingly polarized groups.
Tonight, black Americans and their allies took to the streets here, chanting ''Shame, shame U.S.A.'' The protesters said they were deeply disappointed that the United States could not find a way to compromise and sign an international declaration that is expected to condemn slavery and racial discrimination.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has been urging the Arab League to back away from the charged language, and members of the Black Congressional Caucus also criticized the Bush administration's decision.
Representative Donna M. C. Christensen, a Democrat who is the delegate to Congress from the Virgin Islands, said, ''It leaves African-Americans with no recognition of all the suffering we have had and all of the suffering we continue to have.''
Representative Tom Lantos, Democrat of California and a delegation member, said he was sorry that the United States was pulling out. But he said the team, headed by E. Michael Southwick, a deputy assistant secretary of state, had no choice because the Palestinians and their supporters refused to compromise.
The American and Israeli decision came after officials from the United States and Norway had huddled for hours in closed-door meetings with Palestinian and other Arab officials, trying to broker a deal.
Norwegian diplomats proposed new language that mentioned the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but was fair to both sides, according to American officials. But the effort failed, and some meetings were so heated that participants ended up shouting.
''It was an ugly meeting,'' Mr. Lantos said in an interview. ''This was not a question of persuading people. This was a question of an iron wall we were up against, and there was no give.''
Arab officials blamed the Bush administration for the failure of the talks. Farouk Kaddoumi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, accused the United States of using the dispute as a pretext to avoid serious discussion of slavery and reparations for the descendants of African slaves.
The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Maher, said the Norwegian compromise document trivialized Palestinian suffering.
''The only mention of Israel is that the Palestinians and Israelis should go back to the peace process,'' Mr. Maher said in an interview. ''That is not enough.
''We are talking about a war waged using the most sophisticated weapons on a civilian population,'' Mr. Maher said. ''This is a government that has taken an official decision to assassinate people. You want this conference, which deals with discrimination, not to mention these things? That is precisely what must be raised.''
Polarization has also been evident in the interactions of delegates from civic groups meeting here in the hope of influencing the final declaration on racism, which is to be completed on Friday.
Last week, some Arab groups here distributed offensive literature that included posters of Jews with big noses and bloody fangs. Members of Palestinian and Jewish groups shouted at each other during competing rallies. And on Saturday, about 25 Jews walked out of a meeting of civic groups when someone suggested removing references to anti-Semitism.
After the Jewish groups walked out, the coalition of civic groups approved a report that accused Israel of ''racist crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide'' in its treatment of Palestinians. The report is not binding, and it is unlikely the language would be adopted.
''The U.S. did not reject a discussion about racism, they rejected a conference that was tainted by racism,'' said Stacy Burdett, an assistant director at the Anti-Defamation League, who is attending the conference. ''This wasn't a discussion about legitimate issues. It was a hijacking that vilified and demonized Jews.''
Mordechai Yedid, the head of the Israeli delegation, said in an interview, ''Our position has always been to agree to generic language, to the suffering of people, to war, to occupations.''
''This time because the conference was so important to us and to our history as a people who suffered from anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, we have gone beyond, to specific language,'' he said.
Several human rights groups argued tonight that the United States should have stayed to improve the language about Israel and to show solidarity with the many suffering people in the world.
''We're very troubled by the whole Zionism as racism formulation as well, but we think our responsibility is to stay and have the conversation,'' said Karen K. Narasaki, president of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium. ''You certainly don't build your moral standing in the world by running away.''
And the South African government warned that by leaving, the United States might give the impression that it was ducking tough issues, like race relations within its own borders.
''It will be unfortunate if a perception were to develop that the U.S.A.'s withdrawal from the conference is merely a red herring demonstrating an unwillingness to confront the real issues posed by racism in the U.S.A. and globally,'' the South African government said in a statement.
A version of this article appears in print on September 4, 2001, on Page A00001 of the National edition with the headline: THE RACISM WALKOUT: THE OVERVIEW; U.S. AND ISRAELIS QUIT RACISM TALKS OVER DENUNCIATION. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe