U.S. Will Not Participate in Sept. U.N. ‘Durban III’ Conference

According to the AP, a letter from the State Departnment to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said that the U.S. will not participate in September’s U.N. World Conference Against Racism, commonly known as Durban III after the South African city that held the first conference. The letter gave as a reason that the run up to Durban III in New York “included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism.” The original conference was criticized by pro-Israel groups for equating Zionism with racism and singling out Israel. Today’s U.S. decision was lauded by the umbrella Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the American Jewish Committee.