[A-List] Israel/US trying to smash international consensus on anything, everything, forever.

[Todd Boyle <tboyle@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is not a transcript-- please listen to the audio! 
http://www.btlonline.org/
Cecile Surasky describes actions of Israel and the U.S. which go beyond
boycotting the conference, or controlling any statements about Israel:
She says the goal of Israel and the U.S. are to forestall any consensus
or progress on racism itself, because they would lead directly to
remedies or compensation for African Americans.  I have long believed
as well, that the U.S. works tirelessly to prevent unity and reconciliation
in the world because it leads directly towards a global regime of law
and accountability, and limits on the sovereign power of states...  ---Todd.


Disinformation Campaign Attempts to Discredit UN Anti-Racism Conference
RealAudio / MP3 http://btlonline.org/2009/mp3/surasky050809.mp3

Interview with Cecile Surasky,
communications director with Jewish Voice for Peace,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

A United Nations conference on racism in Geneva was convened in late 
April to review progress since the original U.N. sponsored-Conference 
on Racism and other forms of discrimination was held in Durban, South 
Africa in September 2001. The U.S. and a handful of other nations 
boycotted this year's conference, claiming that its agenda was to 
bash Israel. That decision was based on the 2001 conference document, 
in which the Israel/Palestine conflict was the only international 
dispute mentioned by name, even though it was framed in an impartial 
way. At the earlier conference, a number of Arab nations had 
attempted to define Zionism as racism.

A controversial speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad given 
at this year's anti-racism gathering, was widely interpreted as 
anti-Semitic, playing right into the hands of those who charged that 
the conference had an anti-Israel bias. Despite the boycott and 
international press attention on Ahmadinejad's speech, conference 
delegates adopted a resolution against racism, which covered issues 
such as xenophobia and intolerance.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Cecili
e Surasky, communications director with the American organization 
Jewish Voice for Peace, who attended the Geneva conference. She said 
that even though Israel and others boycotted the conference, its many 
supporters were there in force. And Surasky noted that many either 
ignored legitimate Palestinian claims of discrimination or demonized 
the United Nations, Muslims and Palestinians.