On September 22, the UN marked the 20th anniversary of its infamous Durban Conference and the virulent NGO Forum. The anniversary event added to the much-needed discussion about antisemitic attacks on the State of Israel by politicized NGOs that claim to promote human rights and universal values.
Professor Gerald M Steinberg discusses the legacy of the Durban Conference.
On September 22, the UN General Assembly will mark twenty years since the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, hosting the fourth such event (“Durban IV”). The original conference, and particularly its virulently antisemitic NGO Forum, was a major catalyst for delegitimization campaigns against Israel, such as BDS, lawfare, and other forms of political warfare.
On 5-9 July 2021, EJIL:Talk!, an influential international law blog, hosted a symposium on “Apartheid in Israel/Palestine," specifically focused on Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) April 2021 publication, A Threshold Crossed.
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is "Canada's lead agency for development assistance."
In 2017, the Oakland Institute launched a project titled “Palestine: For Land and Life,” which included a series of reports accusing Israel of apartheid, colonialism, and land grabs.
Founded by Edward Said, Hanan Ashrawi, Azmi Bishara and others, Miftah, claims to promote "global awareness and knowledge of Palestinian realities" . However, some of its claims were exposed as fabrications in a December 2004 CAMERA report, and it routinely describes Israel as an apartheid state and characterizes Palestinian terrorists as "activists." MIFTAH also promotes a number of political campaigns including a petition to "End the Israeli Occupation" and the "National Initiative to Resist the Wall."
Ireland, via its program for overseas development Irish Aid, provides millions of euros through direct and indirect funding processes to politicized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Ireland, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
David Schiff reflects on the silence of human rights organizations in the face of antisemitism.
At the Durban Review Conference PrepCom (October 6-17), BADIL accused Israel of "systematic ethnic cleansing" and "institutionalized racism and discrimination" which "constitutes a root cause of consequence of the ongoing internal forcible displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people." These statements are part of its campaign for the "right of return of the Palestinian people," and in pursuit of the "Durban strategy" of demonization. BADIL is funded by Trocaire (Ireland), Norway, Switzerland, Oxfam, and others.
