{
  "id": 4458026,
  "title": "The Durban Conference 25 years later: A blueprint for anti-Israel demonization - interview",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/the-durban-conference-25-years-later-a-blueprint-for-anti-israel",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-30T16:38:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-907058"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Durban Conference, held in South Africa from August 31 to September 8, 2001, marked the 25th anniversary of the \"Zionism is Racism\" campaign, according to Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor. Steinberg told the Jerusalem Post that the conference became synonymous with anti-Israel rhetoric and served as the blueprint for accusing Israel of genocide, war crimes, and apartheid. The conference was preceded by the NGO Forum, where over 7,000 participants developed an anti-Israel strategy, leading to the intentional use of words like \"genocide,\" \"war crimes,\" and \"apartheid.\"\n\nSix months before Durban, a preparatory conference in Tehran resulted in a document accusing Israel of \"ethnic cleansing,\" a \"new kind of apartheid,\" and a \"crime against humanity,\" with Zionism described as being based on \"race superiority.\" This document laid the groundwork for the NGO declaration at the Durban conference. Despite Secretary of State Colin Powell's warning, the US and Israel ultimately decided not to participate in the conference.\n\nThe final NGO declaration at Durban called for the restoration of UN Resolution 3379, which equated Zionism with racism, and demanded that measures used against apartheid South Africa be applied to Israel. Steinberg explained that Durban became legitimate due to the influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under the human rights label, which has driven the demonization of Israel.\n\nThe specific strategies developed at Durban have been refined and expanded over the past 25 years, with NGOs consistently using the same language and processes to isolate Israel. The BDS movement also originated at Durban, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) was chosen as the appropriate body to label Israel as the \"world's biggest violator of international law.\"",
  "summary": "The conference has become synonymous with discrimination of the anti-Zionist kind, and is considered by many the birthplace of modern anti-Israel rhetoric.",
  "key_points": [
    "The Durban Conference in 2001 marked the 25th anniversary of the Zionism is Racism campaign.",
    "The conference became a blueprint for accusing Israel of genocide, war crimes, and apartheid.",
    "The NGO declaration at Durban called for restoring UN Resolution 3379, equating Zionism with racism."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}