The United States walked out in protest of the 25th celebration of the 2001 anti-Israel Durban Conference at the United Nations, just as it did at the original event, according to Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the global body.
The 2001 event, which was meant to discuss racism, ended up being the “basis for this anti-Western hate, anti-Americanism and antisemitism,” the American envoy stated. “It became a platform for global bureaucrats to press that hateful ideology.”
“We walked out of the conference in 2001, and we’ll continue to fight it right here,” he said.
The United Nations voted 95 to five, with 37 abstentions, to adopt a resolution calling for the Durban Declaration, from 2001, to be adopted in full.
Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in New York, said during the debate that images of Adolf Hitler were shared during the conference, Zionism was equated with racism and Jews were physically attacked.
“The Durban Conference was supposed to combat racism but instead became a platform for antisemitism and hatred of Israel,” the Israeli envoy said.
“Twenty-five years later, the United Nations continues to celebrate this disgrace and attempts to rewrite history,” Danon said. “Israel will not support a resolution that legitimizes antisemitism under the guise of fighting racism.”
“Durban’s legacy deserves no further recognition, no further celebration and no further legitimacy,” he said. “It is time to remove this stain from the United Nations once and for all.”
