Eyes off the prize
U.S. distracting attention from racism conference,
using Israel as decoy
by Laura Flanders
WorkingForChange.com
08.30.01
The United Nations World Conference Against Racism starts Friday and thanks to the U.S. decision to denigrate its work by sending only a low-level delegation, the event will have less bite than its supporters had hoped. Which is exactly what the Bush Administration had in mind.
George W. has been very clear. The United States won't participate, Bush has said, "so long as [conference documents] pick on Israel, so long as they continue to say Zionism is racism. If they use the forum as a way to isolate our friend and strong ally, we will not participate."
In fact, U.S. officials have said don't talk about Zionism and racism so often that it's become virtually the only topic of conversation, which was precisely the idea.
Washington's insistence on avoiding debate over Israeli policy isn't about standing up for a friend. It's about diverting attention from calls for reparations for slavery and colonialism.
There have been two world conferences to combat racism before this one (for more background, check out the conference site ). This third is intended to be about action. The organizers say it will focus on practical steps to eradicate racism, including prevention, education and protection. The goal is to get governments, in front of the rest of the world, to agree to provide effective remedies for racism's victims.
According to Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "If the World Conference is to make a difference, it must not only raise awareness about the scourge of racism, but it must lead to positive actions at the national, regional and international levels that can bring relief to those who bear the brunt of racism and discrimination."
No wonder the U.S. establishment would rather that people talked about Zionism and racism. I mean, continued to talk about NOT talking about Zionism and racism. "Don't look at Israel, right there, at Israel. Over there . . . Don't look." U.S. officials claim to be standing up for "good friend and strong ally Israel." But U.S. officials are using "good friend" Israel as a decoy to distract from racism right here.
Do Israeli policies discriminate against Palestinians? Amnesty International issued a report last month that cited examples of racism in almost 100 countries. About Israel, it wrote that prejudice against Palestinians was "widespread in the criminal justice system, both in the courts and law enforcement methods." In the occupied territories, different laws apply to Jewish settlers and Palestinian residents. Palestinians are governed by more than 3,000 military orders, allowing for trials by military courts which are, according to AI, "often unfair." Racist? You decide.
Does the U.S. have some "action" to take to "bring relief to those who bear the brunt of racism." No question. But what would it mean for the U.S. to take responsibility for the profits the nation's economic, political and social elite have made off slavery?
For almost three hundred years, men, women and children dredged swamps, cut trees, built plantations and grew the crops from which the U.S. economy grew. Where did the profit come from? From their unpaid labor. A couple of years of Reconstruction, followed 100 years later by a couple of decades of unevenly applied Affirmative Action hardly constitutes relief. What would a real apology for slavery look like in terms of action? If the U.S. and some allies can keep the focus on -- I mean off -- Israel, the world may never know.