February 22, 2009 – New York – AJC has sent the following letter to the Jerusalem Post, regarding AJC’s position on the Durban Review Conference.
To the Editor:
Caroline Glick's February 20th column, "Obama's Durban Gambit," presents AJC as working to ensure a repeat of the 2001 Durban hatefest.
She's right, of course. We just love hanging out with Holocaust deniers, watching Jews being vilified, and enlisting the American government's help in demonizing Israel. What else would you expect from an agency dedicated, since 1906, to advancing Jewish well-being?
Let's get real.
Our position on Durban II is clear. We have publicly praised France and the Netherlands, among other countries, for insisting on clear red lines and threatening to withdraw if they are breached. We believe the United States shouldn't attend the Conference under the present circumstances.
This leaves two options: to throw up our hands, or to work to change those circumstances. The United States Government has decided to send a delegation to Geneva to learn about the preparatory process first-hand and see if it is beyond repair.
Ms. Glick suspects nefarious motives. After all, she has already made clear her ideological unwillingness to believe anything President Obama says. He's just a "radical" who is "actively advancing the interests of Islamists" -- obviously.
We, however, choose to work with our government to assess whether Durban is beyond salvaging. We are proud that Felice Gaer, director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, is playing a prominent role in that effort. Contrary to Ms. Glick's spiteful accusation, we received nothing "in return" for anything.
If Durban can be fixed, everybody wins -- not least, the global struggle against racism, to which AJC has been committed for more than a century. If it can't, we will absolutely seek to hold the Administration to its promise to withdraw.
Come on, Caroline. You can do better -- if you take off the blinders.
David A. Harris
Executive Director
American Jewish Committee
New York, NY |
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