Report: Israel dropped from new Durban II draft
Organizers of UN anti-racism conference yield to US, European pressure, issue new, 'softer' draft document to conference excluding controversial references of Jewish state
The organizers of the United Nations anti-racism conference dubbed Durban II, scheduled to be held next month in Switzerland, issued a new draft documents with softer wording regarding Israel, following threats from many countries to boycott the conference due to concerns that the original documents may be considered anti-Semitic.
Nevertheless, Ynet learned Tuesday that the new draft still has a clause reaffirming a resolution made in the first Durban conference, stating that the Palestinians are victims of racism.
The UN's World Conference Against Racism Conferences is scheduled to take place in Geneva between April 20 and April 24.
The new 17-page draft, makes no mention of Israel or the subject of defamation of religion – two subjects considered a "red flag" by the West; nor does it mention the African nation's demand for possible compensation for the slavery practices once common in some European countries.
The new draft is also devoid of any mentioning of discrimination against homosexuals, as previously demanded by several muslin nations and the Vatican.
Durban II's first draft prompted Israel to shun the meet and the US and Canada to announce their delegates will not attend the meeting, a sentiment several European counties and Australia quickly echoed.
The previous version of the document had five paragraphs devoted to the Middle East and the Palestinian question, with several Muslim nations demanding the Israeli offensive in Gaza be explicitly mentioned.
The West deemed the draft's initial tone as "inflammatory." The new draft was prepared under the watchful eye of Russian mediator Yuri Boychenko with the help of three experts from Belgium, Norway and Egypt and still pends the approval of the various regional groups.
Yitzhak Benhorin in Washington contributed to this report
