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Resources updated between Monday, August 1, 2011 and Sunday, August 7, 2011

August 7, 2011

August 5, 2011

Thursday, August 04, 2011

This article by Anne Bayefsky appears on The Weekly Standard.

While the United Nations is doing its best to legitimize the forthcoming Durban III "anti-racism" bash, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears intent on blowing the U.N.'s cover. Each year for the past five years, Ahmadinejad has chosen to speak on the opening day of the General Assembly's so-called general debate, when all the presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers annually descend on New York City. According to a U.N. schedule, however, this year the Iranian president will speak on a different day – the same day as Durban III. This one-day conference is the General Assembly's 10th anniversary celebration of the hatefest held back in 2001 in South Africa, scheduled for New York City on September 22, 2011.

Americans are used to Ahmadinejad speaking at the U.N. – on their dime, since a quarter of the tab for the global platform is coming out of U.S. taxpayer pockets. They are also familiar with the content of his remarks – having heard his unadulterated hate speech every year since 2005. In 2010, he treated the audience to a speech claiming that 9/11 was an inside job "to save the Zionist regime." In 2009, he complained that "a small minority dominates the politics, economy and culture of major parts of the world by its complicated networks." But this year he will be able to dress up his brand of anti-Semitism as part and parcel of championing the Durban Declaration, a document which charges Israel – and only Israel, among 192 states – with racism.

Ahmadinejad was the sole world leader to show up for Durban II, a 2009 meeting which took place in Geneva. He was not going to let the opportunity provided by Durban III go to waste. His sense of entitlement is hardly surprising, given that the U.N. has elected Iran a vice president of the General Assembly starting in September.

Over the summer, the contours of Durban III have slowly emerged. The day will begin with a select group of speakers. They include Qatar, the president of the General Assembly. The head of Qatar's delegation at Durban I stated that "all the Israeli heinous violations are justified as a means to bring back every Jew to a land that they raped from its legitimate owners..."

Opening speakers will also include South Africa – lead promoter and home turf of the Durban fiasco. And there will be U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, herself a native of Durban, who promised the mayor, following her 2008 appointment, to rescue the city's good name.

In addition, one non-governmental organization "active in the field of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" will be given an early speaking slot. From among the hundreds of thousands who might qualify, the U.N. has devised a selection plan – NGOs will be chosen by states on "a no-objection basis." That means leaders in the U.N.'s anti-racism world, like Ahmadinejad, will hold a veto.

Other NGOs can still attend a series of subsequent "round tables." But first, they have to nominate themselves by completing a questionnaire that asks, for instance, was your group "accredited" to Durban I? The vast majority of accredited Durban I NGOs were the same gang that participated in the Durban "NGO Forum" and who voted to declare that Zionism is racism and Israel is an apartheid state.

The NGO questionnaire also requires NGOs to specify "concrete activities" taken by their organization to implement the Durban Declaration. In other words, NGOs that have actively rejected the Declaration's paragraph on Palestinian victims of Israeli racism need not apply.

Organizers have decided that all participants in the round tables, states and NGOs alike, are "invited to make brief remarks that do not exceed three minutes." Most self-respecting heads of state take three minutes to settle in. Ahmadinejad has responded by simply signing up to speak for 30 minutes in the segment directly after the opening session in the General Assembly Hall.

This week the U.N. secretariat officially opened the sign-up sheet for wannabe round table speakers, which is being maintained in accordance with the official status of the speaker and "on a first-come, first-served basis." Then, at 6 p.m., they will all reconvene to adopt a "political declaration" intended to crown the Durban Declaration with the global legitimacy that has so long eluded it.

That is, unless decent people and democracies finally figure out that a club to which Ahmadinejad pines to belong is not one they should want to join.

This article by Anne Bayefsky appears on Fox News.

The United Nations showed its hand this week and sent out a provisional list of speakers for the opening session of the General Assembly in September listing the speaker from "Palestine" as "H.S." or Head of State.

Everybody knows that U.N. goings-on concerning anything Israel-related are about as crooked as it gets. But the much talked-about Palestinian statehood bid threatened for September is being sold as a test of legitimacy. So much for that bill of goods.

In the past, the speaker from Palestine has been given the title in the speakers' list "H.L." or High Level – short for high level delegation – precisely because Palestine is not a state member of the United Nations. Though the Palestinians themselves have put a cover page on their speeches that labels Mahmoud Abbas "President of the State of Palestine," the U.N. has, until now, resisted following suit.

Not this year, however. Negotiations are out. U.N.-imposed solutions on Israel are in.

The U.N. founding document – the U.N. Charter – promises the equality of states "large and small." But in reality, Islamic states and their cronies form an automatic General Assembly majority. In 2010, for example, this meant 78% of all the Assembly resolutions condemning any of the 192 U.N. members for human rights violations were directed at Israel alone.

To date, the U.N. has pretended that the parties themselves must take responsibility for recognizing each other; dozens of U.N. resolutions and the U.N. Middle East Roadmap pay lip service to the necessity of negotiations. After all, negotiations require a willingness to live in peace and acceptance of the other party's existential rights.

But that has never gone down very well in the Palestinian and larger Arab world and the U.N. has been their safety net for any and all excuses for a six decade rejection of a Jewish state.

Some Palestinians put it more clearly than others. As co-founder of Hamas and member of the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud al-Zahar, declared on July 29: "we are not going to accept Israel as the owner of one square centimeter because it is a fabricated state."

The Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood without negotiations is most likely to play out in some combination of U.N. bodies. The guessing at this point is that the Palestinians will go first to the Security Council demanding full U.N. membership in order to embarrass the president and force an Obama veto and then will proceed to the General Assembly for a statement of support. This course will not result in official U.N. membership, since a Security Council blessing is required for that, but additional trappings of statehood will – they hope – have been endowed.

Though the Obama administration is pretending they have little control of the Palestinian Authority or Mahmoud Abbas and company, it is clear that the Palestinians are proceeding apace because they have not been presented with sufficiently negative consequences. Obama isn't leading from behind. He is hiding in the bushes.

His shyness is partly a consequence of the fact that a U.N. end-run around a negotiated settlement challenges his administration's foreign policy yardstick of multilateralism at virtually any cost. He joined the U.N. Human Rights Council and gave it American credibility knowing that half of its resolutions and decisions on specific states are dedicated to Israel-bashing.

It waited for Security Council approval to do something about Colonel Qadaffi's threatened genocide – a delay proving more costly by the minute.

It has handled Syrian butchery by waiting for tepid noises from the Security Council.

It put Iranian nuclear non-proliferation in the hands of U.N. entities that have no hope of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb. So U.S. objection to U.N. action to undercut Israel – yet again – presents a problem for this president.

The U.N. understands that very well, as do the Palestinians. So why not jump the gun on "Head of State"? American taxpayers pay 25% of the U.N. bills and the costs in 2010 represented a whopping 21% increase over the fiscal year 2009. The Palestinians see nothing but a president unwilling to put an end to their gravy train.

Without a major pushback, steamroller here we come.

August 3, 2011

August 2, 2011

Monday, August 01, 2011

New York, NY – The Hudson Institute and the Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust today announced an historic conference targeting manifestations of racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance at the United Nations. The conference will coincide with the highly controversial UN event known as "Durban III." Organizers were galvanized, according to Anne Bayefsky, a Senior Fellow of the Hudson Institute and Director of the Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, after learning that "Americans will be mourning the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 at the same time as the United Nations will appear to be legitimizing the kind of intolerance that drives terrorism itself."

"Durban III" is intended to "commemorate" the 10th anniversary of the UN-sponsored anti-Semitic hatefest that took place in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The final product of that conference – the Durban Declaration – charged Israel with racism, the only one of the UN's 192 state members so accused. Led by Congressman and Holocaust survivor Tom Lantos, the United States – along with Israel – walked out of Durban I in disgust.

Bayefsky points out that "The Durban conference legitimized hate speech on a global scale." At the widely-perceived racist "anti-racism" conference, the streets were filled with signs such as "for the liberation of Quds machine guns based on faith and Islam must be used," and handouts with Hitler's photo read "What if I had won? The good things: there would be no Israel..." Durban I ended three days before 9/11. The Durban Review Conference, or Durban II, was held in Geneva in 2009, and the only world leader to attend was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The one-day conference will be a call to action. "Given the events that Durban III is intended to commemorate," Bayefsky noted, "the UN will sadly serve as a global platform to promote the inverse of its original purposes and principles. It is imperative to deny legitimacy to prejudice and the Durban Declaration."

A Speakers List of International Prominence

The conference has gathered an impressive array of distinguished speakers from three continents, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel, former US UN Ambassador John Bolton, former Governor Mike Huckabee, world-renowned scholar Bernard Lewis, Academy-award winning actor Jon Voight, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Harvard Professor and best-selling author Alan Dershowitz, a psychologist named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world Wafa Sultan, Sudanese human rights activist Simon Deng, former Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold, Harvard Professor and National Humanities Medal recipient Ruth Wisse, veteran award-winning journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, Hoover Institution Fellow and National Humanities Medal recipient Shelby Steele, bestselling author and award-winning UK journalist Douglas Murray, and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy Zuhdi Jasser.

Political and other leaders who have a genuine interest in combating xenophobia will be provided a crucial forum to speak with passion about their concerns, and to distance America and decent people everywhere from a multilateralism divorced from fundamental freedoms and inalienable rights.

Press Credentials

Press is invited to attend the conference, but conference credentials are required.

For more information, please see our website at www.DurbanWatch.com.

ABOUT THE HUDSON INSTITUTE AND THE TOURO INSTITUTE:

The Hudson Institute seeks to guide global leaders to promote security, prosperity, and freedom worldwide. Its innovative research explores the crossover between cultural, demographic, technological, economical, and political atmospheres. http://www.hudson.org/

The Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust aims to understand, explore and evaluate contemporary mechanisms for protecting human rights and the rule of law in view of the lessons of the Holocaust and its aftermath. http://www.touro.edu/ihrh

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Confirmed conference speakers include:

Professor Elie Wiesel is the recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace. A Holocaust survivor, world-renowned author and university professor at Boston University, he has received more than 100 honorary degrees from institutions of higher learning including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal of Achievement. From 1978 to 1986 he chaired the President's Commission on the Holocaust and in 1986 he established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity to combat indifference and injustice.

Ambassador John Bolton is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2005 to 2006). Amb. Bolton has had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. public service, including Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Amb. Bolton is also a regular commentator on Fox News and contributor to various worldwide news publications.

Mike Huckabee is the former Governor of Arkansas (1996 – 2007) and Republican Presidential Candidate for the 2008 elections. In 2005, Governing Magazine named him as one of its 'Public Officials of the Year', while Time Magazine honored Gov. Huckabee as one of the five best governors in America. Gov. Huckabee is the author of nine books and currently hosts the number one weekend rated television show 'Huckabee' on the Fox News Channel.

Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus at Princeton University and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as "the West's leading scholar of the Middle East." An author of over 30 books, he is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal, a fellow of the British Academy, and the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Jon Voight is an Academy-award winning actor, producer and director, with almost fifty films to his credit. Among his many honors, he is the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor, two Golden Globe awards for Best Actor, and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. His courageous efforts to speak out against intolerance, racism and antisemitism have earned him admiration from around the world.

Ed Koch is a former Mayor of New York City (1978 – 1989) and Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1969 – 1977). Mr Koch, is a lawyer and former law professor at several prestigious universities in the United States, including New York University and Brandeis. He is also a best-selling author, civil rights advocate and regular op-ed contributor on politics and foreign affairs to various news publications around the world.

Professor Alan Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is one of the most distinguished defenders of individual and human rights in the world. He is the author of 27 books and his regular columns appear in newspapers around the globe. He is a recipient of numerous humanitarian awards and honorary doctorates for his efforts in defending civil liberties and human rights.

Wafa Sultan is a psychologist and political commentator. She regularly appears on such television networks as CNN and Fox News, as well Al-Jazeera and Arabic-language news channels. In 2006, Sultan was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world."

Simon Deng is one of the most courageous human rights activists of our time. A heroic Sudanese refugee and survivor of child slavery, today he is an American citizen leading the struggle to stop human rights abuses in Sudan. In 2006 he launched the Sudan Freedom Walk, trekking 300 miles from UN headquarters in New York to Washington DC, as a call to action to end slavery and genocide in Sudan.

Ambassador Gold is the President of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs and a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (1997 – 1999). He has served as a senior advisor to Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon, and been a member of pivotal Israeli diplomatic delegations to peace negotiations. Amb. Gold has written numerous articles and books on the Middle East, including Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos.

Ruth Wisse is the Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard University. In 2007 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal. She is the author of the seminal 1992 work If I Am Not For Myself: The Liberal Betrayal of the Jews and the 2007 book Jews and Power, described by the Los Angeles Times as "challenging, erudite and penetrating."

Khaled Abu Toameh is a veteran award-winning journalist who has been covering Palestinian affairs for nearly three decades. Abu Toameh's articles have appeared in numerous newspapers around the world. He currently writes on Palestinian affairs for The Jerusalem Post and is also a producer and consultant for NBC News as well as a Senior Advisor at Hudson New York.

Shelby Steele is a Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the prestigious Bradley Prize in 2006 and the National Humanities Medal in 2004. Steele is also an Emmy Award winning film maker and author and a contributing editor to Harper's Magazine. He received the National Book Critic's Circle Award in 1990 for The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America.

Douglas Murray is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist based in London, England. He has written for numerous publications including the Telegraph, Spectator, Wall Street Journal and Sunday Times. He is a columnist for Standpoint magazine, an Associate Director of the Henry Jackson Society and the Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion.

Zuhdi Jasser MD is the President and Founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). He served 11 years as a medical officer in the U. S. Navy and in 2007 was presented with the Director's Community Leadership Award by the Phoenix office of the FBI. Dr. Jasser, a frequent media commentator, regularly briefs members of the House and Senate congressional anti-terror caucuses.

Professor Anne Bayefsky, an international human rights lawyer, is a Senior Fellow, of the Hudson Institute and Director of the Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust. A recipient of Canada's premier human rights fellowship, named after Canadian Chief Justice Bora Laskin, she has been a member of numerous delegations to the UN since 1984. A frequent media commentator, she is the author or editor of eleven books and creator of leading websites www.bayefsky.com and www.EYEontheUN.org.