-Caveat Lector- From http://www.guardian.co.uk/unracism/story/0,1099,544689,00.html }}>Begin I am a Jew, Robinson tells racism protesters UN human rights commissioner takes symbolic stance as clashes over Zionism threaten to wreck world meeting Special report: UN conference against racism Chris McGreal in Durban Friday August 31, 2001 The Guardian A pamphlet distributed at the United Nations anti-racism conference in South Africa equating the Star of David with a swastika has prompted the UN human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, to declare at an official dinner: "I am a Jew". The former president of Ireland, who is a practising Roman Catholic, spoke in response to a cartoon distributed by the Arab Lawyers' Union in advance of the conference, which opens today. "When I see something like this, I am a Jew," she said. Although UN officials had hoped that the issue of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians had been largely defused by the removal of words in the draft agenda comparing Zionism to racism, the bitterness of Middle Eastern politics has spilled over in Durban. Jewish delegates at the conference say that the protests and hate literature go beyond the criticism of Zionism, which led Washington to downgrade its delegation, and are virulently anti-semitic. The police have had to protect Jews distributing leaflets at the conference. Protesters against Israel disrupted meetings at which Jews who were not Israelis were speaking. Pallo Jordan, a prominent MP for the African National Congress, described the disruption of a discussion on anti-semitism in which he was taking part as "disgraceful". "I'm disgusted with the people that disrupted the sitting," he said. "If the people who were disruptive think they served their political cause by behaving like that they've missed the boat completely." Mrs Robinson, who is secretary general of the conference and has been one of its main promoters, reiterated that Durban was not the place to try to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. "This is a conference to move us forward. I have been disturbed by the personalised exchanges," she said. A press conference given by a coalition of Jewish groups was brought to a halt by a group of Iranian women who shouted down the speakers. One protester shouted: "Six million dead and you are holding the world hostage." The protest finally ended with the Jewish delegates singing John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance and their detractors chanting "Zionism is apartheid". Karen Pollock, a representative of the British Board of Jewish Deputies, said that a number of disparate Jewish groups which had had no contact before the conference had been forced into a caucus to protect themselves. "We felt we had to show solidarity. Not only have we been intimidated, but no official has stepped in to stop it," she said. "I never expected the hostility I've been confronted with. This says I don't have the right to e xpress myself." After first saying that it would pull out of the conference because of the criticism of Israel, the US has sent a delegation of mid-level diplomats led by a deputy assistant secretary of state, Michael Southwick, in the h ope of limiting the attacks on Israel. "We felt that at this point, as the conference is about to begin with all the players in Durban, that it was necessary for us to have representatives out there to... work to eliminate this language," a state department sp okesman, Richard Boucher, said. But Ms Pollock believes the conference will achieve little in such a climate. "My honest feeling is I'm completely sceptical. I really doubt anything concrete will come of this. It's a real shame. I'm frustrated," she said. Britain's representative to the conference, the Foreign Officer minister responsible for Africa, Lady Amos, said that the overall tone of the discussions needed "to be forward looking and focused on action". But much Afri can interest is focused on whether Britain and the other EU countries will apologise for the centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. Lady Amos said that while the entire EU delegation was prepared to recognise modern slavery as a crime against humanity, it objected to using the same term to describe the historical slave trade, because it would have leg al implications. But the delegation was prepared to use "very strong wording" in recognising the wrongs of the trade. "We've talked about using the words 'regret' and 'abhorrence' as regards the slave trade," she said. American groups have been among the most vigorous campaigners for the recognition of slavery and colonialism as a crime against humanity. "A conference that does not deal with the slave trade as a crime against humanity, and colonialism as a crime against humanity, will not be dealing with issues of racism," Bahiya Cabral, a US delegate, said. Amnesty International criticised the composition of the British delegation, saying that it lacked the weight of a senior minister and demonstrated "a lack of commitment to the conference." "The conference is a historic opportunity to create a plan of action for the elimination of racism and it is disappointing that the UK has not shown a clearer commitment to that," it said. 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