Simon Wiesenthal Center Thanks Secretary of State Blinken for US Decision Not to Attend UN’s Durban IV

May 5, 2021

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has thanked Secretary of State Antony Blinken for the United States’decision not to “attend or participate in any events connected to the 20th anniversary of the 2001 Durban Declaration.”

 

“We expressed our gratitude to Secretary Blinken for the US’ leadership. Twenty years ago, my colleague Dr. Shimon Samuels and I were witnesses to the vile and dangerous Jew-hatred unleashed at an international gathering supposedly convened to fight hate,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of Global Social Action Agenda for the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

 

“We experienced the indifference, silence and collusion of over 3,500 NGOs, self-declared gatekeepers of civil society, as the Iranians, Hezbollah, Palestinian and other ‘human rights activists’ turned an anti-racism conference into the worst open anti-Semitic hate fest since WWII.

 

“As for the UN, instead of celebrating Durban I, it should be working to revoke the ugly stains of horrific anti-Semitism and demonization of Israel that was validated under its big tent in Durban, South Africa, just days before 9/11.”

 

Rabbi Cooper noted that its Canadian affiliate is working with other Jewish groups to elicit a commitment from the Canadian Foreign Minister this week.

 

“The Wiesenthal Center is also reaching out to Germany and other nations, urging them not to attend, support or participate in any way,” Cooper concluded.

For further information contact the Center’s Communications department at pressinquiries@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).