Full Breakdown
Durban Conference and the Evolution of Anti-Israel Rhetoric
8/30/2026, 10:22:38 PM
Durban Conference: Origins and Claims
Monday marks 25 years since the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was scheduled to run from August 31 to September 8, 2001, in Durban, South Africa. More than 12,000 representatives attended the main event and 7,000 participants gathered at the preceding NGO Forum, where a coordinated anti-Israel strategy was drafted. Delegates used terms such as “genocide,” “war crimes,” “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” to describe Israel. The final NGO declaration called for the restoration of UN Resolution 3379, which equated Zionism with racism, and for applying anti-apartheid measures to Israel.
Strategies and Language Developed
He says the same language resurfaced after each Israeli-Palestinian clash—2006 Lebanon war, 2008-2009 Gaza war, Operation Cast Lead, the Goldstone Report, Operation Protective Edge—and was amplified after the October 7 events. Steinberg argues NGOs repeatedly adopted the Durban-originated plan to label Israel a “genocidal state” and to pursue its isolation.
Official Reactions and Criticism
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that the United States would not participate if the agenda revived the “Zionism is Racism” campaign. UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson pledged that such a revival would not occur, yet the U.S. and Israel ultimately walked out of the conference. Former Canadian minister of justice Irwin Cotler likened Durban to “the Mein Kampf,” saying, “If 9/11 was the Kristallnacht of terror, then Durban was the Mein Kampf.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Durban was the restarting of the Zionism is Racism campaign. It was the blueprint for accusing Israel of genocide and starvation and war crimes,” — Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor
- “And that has been the engine that has driven the demonization of Israel and language like genocide, starvation, deliberate killing of children, war crimes,” — Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor
- “It was obviously a lie, but it got a lot of traction. Journalists picked it up. NGOs spoke of Israeli war crimes, and they repeated that all the way through the last 25 years,” — Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor
- “If 9/11 was the Kristallnacht of terror, then Durban was the Mein Kampf.” — Canada Irwin Cotler
