Durban 2 conference and Jewish Peoplehood

The first World Conference against Racism organized by the UN took place in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The agenda of this conference was hijacked by Islamic and African countries and various international NGO's with anti-American and anti-Israel policies. As a result, resolutions that equate Zionism with racism and single out Israel as a perpetrator of racist crimes were adopted. In an article written a year ago Schaefer provides good background for the uninitiated on that conference and the decision to hold a follow-up "Durban review conference" (commonly known as Durban II) scheduled to take place in Geneva April 20th - 25th.

Ever since the decision to hold a second conference was made, Israel and pro-Israeli NGO's have been resolute not to be caught off guard once again, and have set off on a flurry of activity. Falkson and Kopecky are both typical examples of writing against Durban II.

As a result of this campaign numerous Western states threatened to cede from the conference, leading Durban II organizers to re-evaluate and change the text of the planned final declaration to omit various anti-Israeli statements. Following this victory, Gerald Steinberg, Executive Director of NGO Monitor, discusses whether these countries should now return to the conference. In an article written a year ago, Anshel Pfeffer was skeptical regarding the wisdom of banning the conference, he also raised an important question: How is it that a major conference on human rights can turn into an anti-Israeli rally? Pfeffer suggests that Israel's claim - that anti-Zionists, such as Iranian president Ahmadinejad, are anti-Semitic as well - is problematic, and therefore not convincing.

The upcoming conference is to be held in Geneva, and Swiss Jews are worried that it will give rise to anti-Semitic activity of the sort that occurred in Durban in 2001 during the first conference. A spokesman for the Geneva police insists that "Geneva really is a safe, peaceful place"; however, Swiss Jewish organizations claim that there has been a rise in anti-Semitic activity and that police have not responded adequately to acts of violence and threats against the Jewish community.

The activity protesting Durban II by Jewish NGO's gives rise once again to the question of the centrality of Israel among supporters of Jewish Peoplehood. David Shneer claims that most Jews living outside of Israel do not feel emotionally connected to the Jewish State, but unlike some other researchers, this does not lead him to conclude that they are distanced from Jewish identity altogether, rather he identifies multiple new hybrid forms of individualized Jewish identity. He therefore calls for the formulation of a new inclusive Jewish Peoplehood that will no longer have Israel at its center. It is worth noting that the webpage of the European Jewish congress on which Shneer's article appears is replete with references to Durban II, suggesting that for some Jews at least (possibly those belonging to mainstream organizations?) Israel is still very much at the center of Jewish consciousness.