34 States Boycott Durban IV Conference

"A total of 34 countries openly boycotted Wednesday’s UN conference marking the 20th anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism in Durban because of the antisemitism and anti-Israel bias exhibited at the 2001 event.

But outside of the UN headquarters in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, passersby would have no idea such a controversial event was taking place inside, if not for the road closures and heavy FBI and NYPD security personnel as dozens of world leaders convened in the city.

The bustling Turtle Bay streets were no louder than a typical weekday, and there were no major or violent protests.

'I expected so much more chaos and constant protests,' said Julia Arber, 22, a dancer who lives a block from the UN.

'I’m familiar with Durban and would expect it to cause antisemitic demonstrations. Some people have been handing me fliers but nothing has really caught my attention,' she continued...

Several diplomats approached leaving the conference declined to speak with the Post.

Leading up to Durban IV, under the banner: 'Fight Racism, Not Jews: The UN and the Durban Deceit,' Israeli Ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Gilad Erdan, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former US attorney-general Michael Mukasey, Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and others spoke at a conference on Sunday organized by Touro College, Human Rights Voices and CAMERA, in a powerful head-on plea to countries to pull out of the Durban IV conference and to stand up to today’s antisemitism.

The virtual counter-event drew thousands of viewers. 'All countries that are genuinely committed to combating racism should refuse to attend Durban IV and the 20th-anniversary carnival,' said Anne Bayefsky, director of Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, president of Human Rights Voices, and moderator of the conference. 'That’s why we held a counter-conference entitled ‘Fight Racism, Not Jews.’ The Durban deceit, the double-talk, the double-standards – and, in particular, the discrimination – need to be exposed and rejected, period.'

More than twice as many countries opted out of the event than the previous Durban Review Conference in 2011 when 14 did so.

The countries boycotting Durban IV were: Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, UK, US and Uruguay..."