GENEVA — Israel is dissatisfied with the draft declaration for next month’s U.N. racism meeting because the Jewish state feels it is still being singled out for criticism, its ambassador in Geneva said Wednesday.
A new version circulated Tuesday removed all direct references to Israel but affirmed support for a 2001 declaration that linked the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the problem of racism.
“In its very first paragraph, the current paper reaffirms the 2001 outcome document which singles out Israel and characterizes the conflict as one of race,” ambassador Aharon Leshno- Yaar said.
Israel and Canada have said they won’t attend the April 20-25 meeting in Geneva over concerns about a possible repeat of the anti-Semitic outbursts that marred the first such meeting eight years ago. The U.S. and the 27-nation European Union also may boycott.
