sancho, it is not that criticism of israel is necessarily anti-semitism. the argument is that the selective nature of the criticism at UNDII, coupled with the selective (and ludicrous) attempts to protect islam from criticism at UNDII, amounts to anti-semitism.

it is a cheap and easy response for supporters of israel's policies to cry anti-semitism. but it is a symmetrically cheap and easy tactic for anti-semites to cloak their nastiness with criticism of israel. there seems to be plenty of cheapness and easiness of both flavours.

"Israel is populated and run by Europeans, whereas Gaza and the rest of the Middle East is people by dark-skinned Arabs."

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read in a long time. A fair chunk of Israelis are of Arab descent - Iraqis, Moroccans, Tunisians etc.

A former Israeli Ambassador to Australia was an Egyptian who spoke fluent Arabic.

I wish I knew what being European and having white skin had anything to do with it. I guess some of Israel's Western supporters have racist and xenophobic attitudes.

I wonder how long it will be before people stop seeing the United Nations as some kind of impartial, objective, innocent bystander. it isn't.

Terry

Israel probably gets the criticism it deserves. Antisemitism of course, is another matter entirely,as well as antisemitism, an Islamic group is pushing another agenda at Durban 2. This is an attempt to equate criticism of religion( guess which one) as a violation of human rights,I find this rather alarming as it strikes at a fundamental right in Western civilisation, the right to free speech.It will be interesting to see what comes out of this rather sinister gathering, we probably won't like it.

david f, you said, "I also question the boycott of the conference. It is a United Nations conference, and all members should attend, if for nothing else, to participate. It is analogous to the counterproductive US policy of not recognising governments of which they disapprove or on not on friendly terms with." I couldn't agree more. A country not attending the conference has no input whatsoever. A hands-off approach accomplishes nothing.

To participate in a conference whose arguments will be premised on anti-Semitism and hoax conspiracies and which will demand, as it has done in the past, the delegitimisation of Israel, which is an outpost of Western civilization in the midst of barbarians, as an "apartheid" and "criminal" state, will be a monumental stupidity.

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