Coverage of Durban II Displays NYT's Bias

1. "U.S. to Skip U.N. Conference";Reuters; 8; Sunday, April 19
2. "Concerns Keep U.S. From Talks On Racism"; By Neil MacFarquhar; A7; Monday, April 20
   
3. "More Hatred from Mr. Ahmadinejad"; Editorial; A24
4. "Iranian Calls Israel Racist At Meeting In Geneva"; By Neil MacFarquhar; A4, A7

In an otherwise reasonable account about the decision of the US and other European countries not to attend the UN Conference on Racism, called Durban II, on Monday, one criticism is in order:

In discussing the 2001 world summit against racism, referred to as Durban I, Neil MacFarquhar writes, "[C]ritics said [it] served as a platform to bash Israel." Attributing the remark to "critics" is a way to leave the matter open to dispute, when there is none.

Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen's remarks must be printed here in full since they are so important. I have emboldened key parts:

"Several countries that still have a great deal to do in the area of human rights are misusing the summit to elevate religion above human rights, to place unnecessary restrictions on freedom of expression, to ignore discrimination based on sexual orientation and to implicitly single out Israel and put it in the dock."

A news article and editorial appear in Tuesday's paper about Iranian President Ahmadinejad's hateful speech on Monday.

The next day, Wednesday, Abe Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League penned an excellent response to the editorial. The letter covered the pertinent faults of the piece, so it need not detain us here. 

The news article, however, written by Neil MacFarquhar, was nearly as problematic as the editorial, but no letter could appear in print to similarly expose it. 

What separates the West from other countries, writes MacFarquhar, is "whether Israel's treatment of the Palestinians under occupation belongs at a forum on discrimination and xenophobia." Placing this matter at the fore is rather deceptive since what is at the heart of Durban II is outright delegitimization of Israel, not Israel's behavior as administrator of Judea & Samaria.

MacFarquhar misconstrues matters on another account when discussing Ahmadinejad's condemnation of the Jewish state and denial of the Holocaust. The Iranian president takes "visible delight" in making such statements because "it so irks Iran's opponents," he states. This characterization conveys the impression that Ahmadinejad is an unruly child, not a malevolent anti-Semitic dictator. 

He delights in these statements because he believes in them; they are his truth and his salvation. The childishness, as opposed to the evil, which is at the heart of the Iranian worldview is underscored by MacFarquhar in his remark about Iran's portrayal of Israel "as a regional boogeyman" later on in the article. 

"Iranian Calls Israel Racist..." concludes with remarks from the Pakistani ambassador to the UN that are sympathetic to the Iranian president, evidencing once again Muslim leaders' refusal to disassociate themselves from hateful anti-Jewish rhetoric.