Your Black World reports.This September, the United Nations plans to gather for its 10th annual UN World Conference on Racism. The United States and Israel both walked out of the conference because they felt that the gathering was anti-Semitic by criticizing Israel in a draft resolution on Zionism. The resolution accused Zionists of being racists, in large part due to their treatment of the Palestinian people.
Joseph E. Macmanus, the acting US assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, claims that the conference “included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitis.”
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said that she welcomes the United States’ decision to boycott the conference.
“It is an insult to America that the United Nations has decided to hold the Durban III conference in New York just days from the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We all witnessed how extreme anti-Semitic and anti-American voices took over” previous gatherings.The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations also applauded the move.
The United States may have another reason for avoiding UN conferences on racism. The US has been accused of racism itself for its treatment of African Americans. Some claim that it is a human rights violation that African Americans experience far higher unemployment than whites, poorly funded educational systems and far greater rates of incarceration. The criticism has grown and continues as black unemployment continues to rise here in the U.S.
Ohio State University Professor Michelle Alexander recently stated that the United States should consider new methods of incarceration because the current system has had a disproportionate impact on the African American community.
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