Monday, April 27, 2009

Censorship by another name....

The Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference was approved unanimously by those countries that had not boycotted the conference. You will be told that the document is not bad. It does not mention Israel. It does not mention Zionism. It does not mention the Palestinians. While this is all true, the document still contains a concept within its text that is so anathema to American values that the United States would not have been able to approve the document regardless of the Israeli-Palestinian issues. It is this concept that caused some of the European countries to pull out of the conference – not the arguments surrounding Zionism.

The Outcome Document states that “all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred * * * shall be declared offence punishment by law”. Basically, the Outcome Document states that incitement to hatred should be illegal.

Your response may be, so what? Isn’t it bad to incite hated? Isn’t it bad to claim racial superiority? Aren’t these ideas harmful to the fight against racism, intolerance and xenophobia?

Or course it is bad to incite hatred. Of course it is bad to claim racial superiority.. But it is worse to prevent free speech. Free speech is the keystone to a functioning democratic society. In our country, we do not suppress speech. Speech can be vile. It can be hate-filled. It can be untrue. But, with few exceptions, speech is always legal.

You do not win by suppressing speech. You do not win by allowing the government to chose which ideas are allowed and which ideas are banned. You win by being right, by having the ability to speak back, and by promising that – whether we are in the majority or in the minority – we will always have the right to disseminate our ideas.

As Americans, we are alone in this view of free speech. Many European countries have less expansive views. As just one example, in Germany it is illegal to deny the Holocaust. But because we are alone does not mean that we are wrong. Our country is far from perfect. But taking into consideration our differences as far as race, religion, political philosophies, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and geography, I would say we are doing pretty well. And free speech is a large part of how we can function as such a diverse society. It may be easier to just make hate-speech illegal. It may be easier to have the government decreeing what ideas are allowed and what ideas are banned. But it would be wrong.

So many aspects of Durban were hijacked by the fight over Zionism. The debate centered on this issue, the demonstrations centered on this issue and the media coverage centered on this issue. But do not make the mistake of thinking that Durban was only about this one issue. Durban also put the right to free speech on the line in the name of racial tolerance. Whether the concept is called “incitement to hatred” or “defamation of religion” or any other euphemism that is developed later on, it is about censorship. If we, as a global community, decide that censorship is the way to fight hatred and racism we have already lost.

Text from the outcome document:

Paragraph 13 - Reaffirms that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law; reaffirms further that all dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts shall be declared offence punishable by law, in accordance with the international obligations of States and that these prohibitions are consistent with freedom of opinion and expression

Paragraph 69 - Resolves to, as stipulated in art. 20 of the ICCPR, fully and effectively prohibit any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence and implement it through all necessary legislative, policy and judicial measures

Paragraph 99 - Calls upon States, in accordance with their human rights obligations, to declare illegal and to prohibit all organizations based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote national, racial and religious hatred and discrimination in any form, and to adopt immediate and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of, such discrimination

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Act Now for Darfur

If this week in Geneva has taught me anything, it is that we all have a moral imperative to act and do what we can to stop genocide and to stop human rights violations around the world. Previously, I was naive to think that there were groups - such as the United Nations Human Rights Council - that existed to act on Genocide. I used to think there were international laws passed - such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide - which were in place to prevent Genocide. However, in order to do anything about this atrocity, the United Nations or the Human Rights Council would actually have to care about the victims in Darfur. But this week in Geneva was not about helping victims, the Human Rights Council is not about helping victims and - unfortunately - the United Nations is not about helping victims. That means the we must be about helping victims. We must stand up and tell our government, our friends, our neighbors and anyone else that will listen that it is our duty as human beings - that it is the responsibility of humanity - to prevent genocide. Genocide has been happening everyday for the past six years in Darfur. We must do everything we can to stop it.

For those of you in Detroit, there is an event going on this Sunday to raise money and awareness about Darfur. Please consider going to the event and donating to the cause.

Act Now for Darfur - A Call To Action
Sunday, April 26, 4-6
Holocaust Memorial Center
Donate at www.firstgiving.org/darfurawareness
Check out the video at www.youtube.com/changedarfur

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Empty Chairs

Below are pictures of empty chairs. The empty chair of Israel, who boycotted the Durban Review Conference. The empty chair of the United States, who sent a delegation to the Conference but decided the process was beyond salvation and chose to also boycott. The empty chair of France, who is attending the Conference but walked out of Ahmadinejad’s speech as soon as he referred to the Israel as a racist country and Zionism as a racist institution. Then there are countries, such as the eloquent ambassador from Norway, Jonas Gahr Store, who sat through Ahmadinejad’s speech and then gave a rousing speech of his own stating that “Norway will not accept that the odd man out hijacks the collective efforts of many” and noted that Ahmadinejad’s ideas "run counter to the very spirit of dignity of the conference." (See link on the right for the video of Norway's Speech)


Each of these choices have been questioned and criticized (with the exception of Israel’s decision not to attend – however they have spent the entire week having their very existence questioned and criticized). And that is yet another tragedy of Durban. Countries that support human rights and object to the hateful rhetoric of Ahmadinejad are still divided in how to respond. Well-meaning individuals and governments now must spend time debating how to respond to those actions that seek to vilify Israel, restrict free speech and turn the idea of human rights upside down instead of spending time debating how to address growing threats such as Islamophobia and how to address the genocide in Darfur.




In the end, the tragedy is that this conference is filled with distractions. Ahmadinejad is a distraction. Zionism is a distraction. Israel is a distraction. As long as people are debating whether Zionism is racism, they are not talking about what actions to take to help the survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. As long as people are debating whether it is appropriate to stand for a moment of silence for those killed in Gaza, they are not talking about the discrimination against the Dalits in India. As long as country after country is naming Israel – and only Israel – as a violator of human rights who should be dealt with by the United Nations, the eyes of the world will view this week as a circus instead of an opportunity to bring attention to minority groups from around the globe who are oppressed, tortured and killed by the actions of their governments.


We have heard criticism that the Jewish presence is only here to talk about Israel and does not actually care about the victims of racism. This criticism is, at once, both fair and unfair. We would like nothing more than to have the opportunity to learn about the victims of racism from around the world. Indeed, our group participated in the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy where we listened to genocide survivors from Rwanda and Darfur, dissidents from Cuba and Belarus and torture victims from Iran and Libya. We are here to educate ourselves on these issues so we can bring them back to our communities.

However, because so many of the events have been hijacked by the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic crusaders, we feel we need to be present to bear witness to this hate speech and, as appropriate, speak up to defend Israel. Because of this, it may appear that we only care about Israel. But we did not put Israel on the agenda and we surely did not put Israel in the spotlight. Others made that choice, and now we have spent our Conference doing what we could to minimize the damage. We would like nothing more than to be able to spend all our time going into panels and talking seriously about how to fight racism, intolerance and xenophobia and learning about the minorities around the world who suffer every days because of these tragedies. Instead, we are forced to defend Israel, to correct lies and to point out the hypocrisy. Instead, we are forced to bear witness. We did not want to have to make this choice, but in the end, it was the only choice we could make.

As the Conference draws to a close tomorrow, I know the questions that will face me at home. Were the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany right to boycott the conference? Were the remaining countries of the European Union as well as others including Morocco (and, interestingly enough, the representatives from Palestine) right to walk out of Ahmadinejad’s speech? Was Norway right to sit through his speech? But really, there are no right answers here. There is no perfect response here. But there is clearly a wrong answer here. The wrong answer is to sit idly by and do nothing. The wrong answer is to remain silent in the face of evil. Regardless of whether one agrees with the empty chairs, at least these countries made a choice to do something. Regardless of whether one agrees with Norway’s decision to remain in the room, at least Norway made the choice to respond. The real evil is not limited to Ahmadinejad and those who applauded him. The real evil includes those countries that, in the face of evil, sits idly by and do nothing.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

As Exhaustion Sets In….

Tonight, I am exhausted. Physically, our days have been going from 7 a.m. until past midnight every night with no breaks, which is exhausting. Emotionally, I have endured listening to vile hate speech and people blaming Zionism for all the ills of the world, which is exhausting. Intellectually, I have listened to endless hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty, which is exhausting. But even though I am exhausted, I am still invigorated at the prospect of using these next few days to make a difference, to reach out, to show the world that there are still people at this conference who care about fighting racism, xenophobia and intolerance. We hope to show the world that groups from different parts of the world with different beliefs can still listen to each other and find common ground. After everything that has gone on, it is hard to be optimistic but we do have glimmers of hope.

So, at the conclusion of this Yom Ha’Shoah (the Holocaust Day of Remembrance), it is important to remember that we can not become too exhausted, too apathetic, too indifferent to care about those who are killed around the world because of their race, their religion, their gender or their sexuality. Professor Irwin Cotler has given several rousing speeches this week about the evils of genocide, reminding us that at the end of WWII the world promised “Never Again” yet there have been multiple instances of genocide in recent memory. We just passed the 15th anniversary of the start of the genocide in Rwanda where 1 million people were killed in 100 days. We are in the sixth year of the genocide in Darfur. While the world said “Never Again”, genocide has happened again and again. While the world said “Never Again”, genocide continues to happen as this conference goes on.

There are human rights violations happening today, all over the world. And that is exhausting. It is easy to shut down and not listen to the evils of the world. It is easy to protect ourselves in a bubble and ignore the cries for help. But a long time ago, the world said “Never Again”. “Never Again” was more than just words, it was a promise that the citizens of the world made to each other. If we allow ourselves to become exhausted, if we allow ourselves to become indifferent, if we allow ourselves to become apathetic then do we have the right to stand up once a year and cry for the six million Jews and five million other human beings that were slaughtered by the Nazis? Do we have the right to yell about anti-Semitism or gender discrimination or homophobia or whatever our particular cause is when we are too exhausted to care about the evils that are being enacted on others?

The Talmud (Jewish teachings) says, “It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task, but neither are you free to absolve yourself from it.” Trust me when I say that no one here is naïve enough to believe that we can solve racism, intolerance, xenophobia or – the evil of all evils – genocide. But however exhausted we are, we are not absolved from our duty to humanity to do what we can. So, for the next few days, I promise to do all I can. I ask you to do the same.

Draft Document Approved

The draft document from April 17th has been approved with only one country dissenting (it is unclear which country - I will update as soon as I find out). I have linked to the document on the right side of the page. I will update with more information and the significance of the document when I am able.

Grab Bag

Over the past few days, I have received several questions that I would like to answer in this quick blog post. If you have any questions, please post as a comment or send in an e-mail and I will try to get to them later this week.

Why is the American Jewish Committee taking part in the Durban Review Conference since the US government has boycotted the conference?

I hope to write a longer essay soon regarding the dynamics between countries that have boycotted (of which there are 10 - Italy, Israel, US, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Poland and the Czech Republic), the countries that chose to walk out of Ahmadinejad's speech (which included the EU countries and others) and the countries who support Israel but chose to stay in the room (the prime example is Norway). However, I obviously support the participation of the American Jewish Committee and UN Watch at this conference. Our presence does not lend legitimacy to the conference, as would the presence of the US government. Our presence does give us the opportunity to dialogue with other groups - including the victims of genocide in Darfur and Rwanda, Arab and Palestinian groups, other Jewish groups, and many other international NGOs who are hear to discuss a wide variety of issues affecting our world.

Why did you stay in the room for Ahmadinejad's speech instead of walking out?

The "walk out" took place on the main floor of the Assembly Hall. The official representatives of various countries walked out at the first mention of Israel as a racist state and Zionism as a racist institution. The walk out did not occur in the galleries (which consisted of representatives of NGOs and press). Again, as with the boycott issue, my presence in the gallery did not legitimize Ahmadinejad's hate speech. However, many believe that the presence of the governmental officials from the western democracies would have legitimatized this man. In choosing whether the attend the speech, I believe that I am hear to bear witness to what occurs at this convention and I need to be present for the speech to be able to come home and describe this experience.

Is your safety at risk?

We spend most of our time in the UN complex itself, which as you would expect, has a lot of security. Additionally, at all Jewish-themed events, there is independent security as well as Swiss police present. In short, I feel very safe here.

Are you having fun?

I have smiled at this question, because fun is a strange word to describe my experience here (especially my experience yesterday). It has been an interesting and educational experience. Also, the sessions themselves have alternated between exhilarating and painfully boring. And yes - there have been moments of meeting new and incredible people that have been fun. However, fun is not the first word I would use to describe this experience as a whole.

Why are there so many typos in your blog?

I am often blogging after midnight. Our group is running on little sleep. For example, last night some of us did not return to the hotel until 1 a.m., at which point we had our first opportunity to upload pictures and videos, check out news coverage and write about our experiences. We meet for breakfast every morning at 7:30 and then leave for a full day of sitting in the sessions, going to NGO events, going to demonstrations and networking with other participants. So I apologize for my typos and grammatical mistakes, but it is fairly miraculous that I am even writing full sentences. I just had two shots of espresso, so I am wide awake at the moment!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Applauding Hatred

I have marched from Auschwitz to Birkenau. I have seen the walls stained blue in the gas chambers of Majdenek. I was spit on in Krakow and encountered neo-Nazis in Warsaw. I have seen swastikas painted on the walls of Verona. And none of these experiences prepared me to sit in a room as people applauded a man as he said that “the word Zionism personifies racism” and “governments must be encouraged at eradicating this barbaric racism.”

Please, have no doubt. “His Excellency”, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the face of evil. It takes evil to speak about the rights of all nations while simultaneously calling for the destrution of one nation. It takes evil to speak of love and brotherhood and peace while you are calling for the eradication of a people. It takes evil to accuse the United States and Israel of “uunbridled racism that is posing the most serious threat against the international peace” while you are funding the rockets that are shattering the peace process.

Please, make no mistake. Ahmadinejad does not care about the people of Gaza. He does not care about the people of the West. He does not even care about his own people. He oppresses and tortures and murders his own people. His country executes children, oppresses religious minorities and declares that a woman is only worth half that of a man. He imprisons and kills those that would dare to dissent from his regime.

Sitting in the room as people applauded this man multiple times during his speech was both frightening and painful. As he started in on the hateful section of his speech, and spoke about the formation of the racist, Zionist regime after the start of WWII, the applause swelled. Many nations, including most of the European Union, walked out. But the applause seemingly continued as diplomats streamed from the room. And then the speech continued. And then the applause continued.

In his language today, Ahmadinejad was calling for a holy war. He refered to the Durban Review Campaign as a “holy and humanitarian campaign”. But there is nothing holy about his words and there is nothing holy about his actions. All he represents is hypocrisy and hatred. It is a shame that so many people sat there today and applauded him. It is a shame that the Durban Review Conference gave him a forum from which to espouse his hatred. It is a shame that he was allowed to further sidetrack the world’s attention from where it belongs – on the victims of racism and genocide. As I exited the room after the applause died down to get air, I could only try to be thankful that my government was not there to lend legitimacy to this evil and that so many people representing so many countries chose to get up and walk out at his first hate-filled words. But after sitting there surrounded by those who would applaud evil – that seems like a small consolation prize.

To watch the speech, please clink on the link on the right side of the page.

For other takes on today, please check out:
Durban II Dispatch: In Search of Anti-Semites http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-in-search-of-anti-semites.aspx
Durban II Dispatch: Live-blogging Ahmedinejad http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-live-blogging-ahmedinejad.aspx
Durban II Dispatch: Following Ahmedinejad http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/20/durban-ii-dispatch-following-ahmedinejad.aspx

DRC Begins

I am currently listening to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Doing What Is Right

As an introductory note, I am writing this entry without access to the video or exact transcript of the events I am describing. Because of that, unfortunately, I have no choice but to paraphrase Dr. El Hagog’s powerful words. I hope tomorrow to be able to update this post with the transcript and/or video from today’s events.

Today, I attended the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. The experience was incredible. While I hope to be able to write about many aspects of this experience, tonight I will focus on what was – for me – the most moving moment of the day.

Dr. Ashraf El Hagog is a Palestinian doctor who worked in Libya. He, along with five Bulgarian nurses, were scapegoated by the Libyan government after 450 children were infected with HIV and hepatitis from tainted blood. They were imprisoned, tortured and sentenced to death. They remained on death row in Libya for nine years. Eventually – with the help of France and Bulgeria – they were extradited to Bulgaria and pardoned. Dr. El Hagog is now a proud Bulgarian citizen.

As a side note, Libya is chairing the Durban Review Conference which is just another example of the truly perverse nature of this conference. Dr. El Hagog – speaking on behalf of UN Watch – confronted the Libyan chair at Friday’s preperation session. This exchange is described in detail in Zvika Kreiger’s blog for New Republic at http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2009/04/19/durban-ii-dispatch-libya-on-trial.aspx

In describing his experience, Dr. El Hagog noted that he – a Palestinian Muslim – had been imprisoned by Libya, a country that he felt was his “big brother” (using this with its affectionate – and not Orwellian – meaning). He was then scapegoated by this big brother because he – as a foreigner – was still an outsider even though he is Muslim. The Libyan government – to discredit him – accused him of working for CIA or Mossad. They accused him of really being a Jew or a Christian. They attacked him because – as a foreigner without a state of his own – he was vulnarable and he could be scapegoated. They tortured him and threatened his family, forcing him to confess to atrocities that he did not commit.

The person who first came to help Dr. El Hagog was not a Muslim. It was not a Christian. It was not even an Arab. The first peson who came to Dr. El Hagog’s aid was a Jew, a Bulgarian government official. Dr. El Hagog eloquently spoke about his supposed enemy coming to his rescue. He implied that he used to believe things about Jews that he did not believe anymore because of the actions of this one man.

Dr. El Hagog’s words (which I again, I apoligize I cannot bring to you word for word at this time) brought me to tears. His story reminded me that, in life, we often focus on “us” versus “them”. For some, the “us” may be Israelis and the “them” may be Palestinians. The “us” may be Jews and the “them” may be Muslims. The “us” may be Americans and the “them” may be the rest of the world. But – in the end – the real “us” that matters is those who would chose to help people and the “them” is those that chose to harm people. In this case, the Libyan government chose to persecute Dr. El Hagog and the five Bulgarian nurses. And to this Bulgarian government official, it did not matter that he was Jewish and Dr. El Hagog is Muslim. It did not matter that he was Bulgarian and that Dr. El Hagog was Palestinian. It only mattered that Dr. El Hagog was suffering a horrible injustice.

Injustice does not change – it cannot change – because of the identity of the victim. Whether the victims are the Darfurians of the Sudan, the Tutsis of Rwanda or Hitler's 11 million victims during WWII, victims of injustice need the actions of the just. The powerless need the protection of the powerful.

This is the true tragedy of the Durban Review Conference. The World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerances should be the forum where the world comes together and sets out the standards by which majorities must treat minorities, by which the governors should treat the governed and by which victims can seek redress against those that victimize them. Instead, it will likely being a sideshow – starting with tomorrow’s speech by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And because of this sideshow, it is the voices of the real victims – like Dr. El Hagog – that will not be heard.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Updated Draft Document

I have included a link (on the right hand side of the page) for the April 15 Draft Outcome Document. This has a few changes (bolded) from the last draft - however, the one I want to draw your attention to is paragraph 7 which now states:

"[T]hat poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion and economic disparities as well as foreign occupation are closely associated with racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices which in turn generate more poverty"

Viewing this change in context, foreign occupation appears to mean Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. This change to the text is - at best - problematic and - most likely - just another attempt to make the conference about Israel instead of focusing on the numerous problems of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other similar intolerances that are occurring around the world.

By declaring that all foreign occupations are "closely associated" with racism - it brings up numerous issues completely unrelated to Israel. As stated by UN Watch on their blog, "Shall we now define the NATO occupation of parts of the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as racist? What about the American, Russian, British and French occupation of post-war Germany?" (See http://blog.unwatch.org/) Such a universal declaration is unproductive and, frankly, incorrect. While some foreign occupations may be racist, others are not. While the point of this conference should not be to argue about the Israel - I will say that the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians is neither racial nor is it religious. Twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Arabs (including both Muslim and Christian Arabs). The dispute between Israel and the territories is a political one between two groups with competing national interests. It is not about race and it is not about religion. It is - fundamentally - about land.

As there are new draft declarations throughout the week, I will post them. Hope everyone is well. If you are interested, check out http://genevasummit.org/ tomorrow.

Welcome to Geneva...

After three flights, 18 hours and one almost-lost bag, I have safely arrived at my hotel in Geneva. While the Durban Review Conference doesn't start until Monday, there is a very exciting event taking place tomorrow. More than 30 human rights and anti-racism NGOs will be holding the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. For more information about the event - check out www.genevasummit.org. There will also be a live interactive broadcast of the summit for anyone interested in waking up at 2 a.m., EST.

The big news of the week has been the fact that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the Durban Review Conference on Monday. Iran's human rights record is abysmal. The Iranian government discriminates against minority groups and imprisons their leaders. Homosexual acts can be punished by death. Woman are arrested for violating dress code - including wearing a hajib that is too colorful or a coat that is too tight. President Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever happened and says that Israel should be wiped off the map. Yet, this is the man that will speak at the first day of the Durban Review Conference. Why?

Thank you for reading the blog. I will update tomorrow with news from the Geneva Summit for Human Rights, TOlerance and Democracy.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

How To Receive E-mail Updates

A few people have requested to receive e-mail updates when I post. If you would like to receive e-mail updates, please go to
http://groups.google.com/group/alicias-durban-blog and join the group. If you join the group, you will be automatically e-mailed when I post.

Preparing for Durban

Thank you for checking out my blog to track my experience at the Durban Review Conference. The Durban Review Conference will be taking place from April 20-24 in Geneva, Switzerland. I will be leaving for Geneva this Friday. I will be leaving for Geneva this Friday.


Many of my friends have asked - What is the Durban Review Conference and why are you going?


The short explanation is I have been selected by American Jewish Committee (http://www.ajc.org/) to serve as a delegate of UN Watch (http://www.unwatch.org/) to the Durban Review Conference to bear witness to what occurs at the conference.


The Durban Review Conference is a United Nations conference and part of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR). There have been three prior WCAR meetings - 1978, 1983 and 2001.


During the 2001 Conference, instead of focusing on issues of racism around the globe - the conference took a disturbing turn and decided to focus solely on Israel. For a disturbing account of the experience of one student at the Conference, please read the Durban Diaries (http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/{6DEB65DA-BE5B-4CAE-8056-8BF0BEDF4D17}/Durban%20Diaries.pdf)


For visual examples of what took place in 2001:






I think the trend of anti-Israel activity - especially at the expensive of focusing on racism and human rights violations around the world - is deeply troubling. That the United Nations would support this anti-Israel activity is appalling. As the US government reevaluates its relationship with United Nations Human Rights Council, I think it is imperative that Americans take the time to learn more about this organization and how it has ignored human rights violations around the world to focus - almost exclusively - on the defamation of Israel.


I look forward to the experience and hope you will check out my blog throughout the week as I update you on my experience at the Durban Review Conference.