New York, NY, July 18, 2001 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today reached out to the foreign ministers of all U.N. member nations urging them to reject efforts to introduce anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric at the upcoming U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.

In a letter to the foreign ministers, Glen A. Tobias, ADL National Chairman, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director called on delegates to the U.N. Conference to "take steps to resist, denounce and work vigorously against efforts that detract from the fight against bigotry.

"It is tragic that some nations would seek to utilize a forum which should embrace tolerance to advance an agenda of hatred and misunderstanding," Mr. Tobias and Mr. Foxman said. "If this conference is to be a celebration of dignity and tolerance, responsible leaders must raise their voices to reject anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric."

The League is urging nations participating in the Third Preparatory Conference, July 30 - Aug. 10 in Geneva, to use the meeting as an opportunity to condemn the "divisive language driven by hatred" that now appears within a proposed declaration for the U.N. Conference. The current Draft Declaration and Program of Action rails against "racist Zionist practices" and equates the Holocaust with "ethnic cleansing of the Arab population in historic Palestine."

ADL also conveyed its concerns to the Bush administration. In a June 29 letter to President George W. Bush, the League’s officials called on the administration to take the lead in rejecting anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric at the U.N. Conference.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.