Statement by Dr. Moshe Kantor, President, the European Jewish Congress

“As we prepare to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow (April 21) and the worst genocide in history, the European Jewish Congress condemns the platform given by the United Nations to Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Durban II, the UN-sponsored anti-racism conference.

If there was any doubt about what Ahmadinejad and conference organizers Iran, Libya, Pakistan and their allies had in mind as they planned Durban II, it has now been made abundantly clear. It should surprise no one that Ahmadinejad, an avowed Holocaust denier and sponsor of international terror, would vent forth the hatred, vitriol and lies that he spewed during his address to the Durban II delegates.

The Durban II conference is a snapshot of the world at large. It is taking place against the backdrop of a global rise in anti-Semitism fueled by the economic crisis. The hate expressed by the likes of Ahmadinejad towards Israel and the Jewish people continues to stoke the embers of long-simmering anti-Semitic canards and Jewish blood libel. Putting countries like Iran that openly espouse anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at the helm of a conference ostensibly devoted to combating racism is troubling and beyond hypocritical.

It is a shame that once again, hindsight is 20/20. Based upon the planning process and draft resolution language, every nation and delegation should have known what to expect. The European and other delegations that walked out in the moment Ahmadinejad began his diatribe against Israel should be commended for having the moral conviction not to stand for this mockery of human rights, but they should not have been participants to begin with.

It should be noted that Norway’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, speaking immediately after and in response to Ahmadinejad’s vitriol, stated...’we will not let the floor of the UN be hijacked by extremists.’

If Hitler himself had addressed this forum, would UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sit as politely as he did for the lies and hatred spewed forth by Ahmadinejad ? Shame on him, and shame on anyone who stayed in the room to hear - or applaud - his evil rants. Ahmadinejad’s brand of revisionist history and lies should not rule the day, but we fear that Durban II will continue to provide a platform for more of this hatred.”