Bush Firm On Boycotting UN Racism Conference If Zionism on Agenda

Scott Stearns

White House

24 Aug 2001 20:29 UTC

President Bush says the United States will 1)boycott an international conference on racism if organizers follow trough the discussion to portray 2)Zionism as racism. The president says the United States will not take part in a conference that 3)insults Israel.

This month's World Conference on 4)Racism includes an Arab-backed proposal calling Zionism a form of racism. Zionism is the movement that helped create the modern state of Israel. The draft proposal 5)equates Israel's treatment of the Palestinians with the Nazi 6)Holocaust of World War II that killed six million Jews.

President Bush has asked Secretary of State Colin Powell to continue negotiations with conference organizers to have that language removed. If it is not, Mr. Bush stresses the United States will not take part in the conference. "We have made it very clear through Colin Powell's office that we will have no representative there so long as they 7)pick on Israel, so long as they continue to say Zionism is racism," he said. "If they use the forum as a way to isolate our friend and strong 8)ally, we will not participate."

The Zionism proposal seeks to revive a 1975 U.N. resolution saying the Jewish movement is racist because of its treatment of Palestinians. That resolution was 9)repealed in 1991 in a move led by Israel and the United States.

Several heads of state are expected to attend the U.N. conference in Durban, South Africa. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is also expected to address the meeting, which is the first global meeting on racism in 18 years.

(1)      boycott[5bCIkRt]n.vt.联合抵制, 联合排斥某国货物或与某国绝交

(2)      Zionism[5zaIEnIz(E)m]n.犹太复国主义,犹太复国运动

(3)      insult[In5sQlt]n.侮辱, 凌辱vt.侮辱, 凌辱

(4)      racism n.种族主义, 人种偏见, 种族歧视

(5)      equate[I5kweIt]vt.使相等, 视为平等vi.等同

(6)      holocaust[5hRlEkC:st]n.大毁灭, 大屠杀

(7)      pick on v.作弄, 总是挑剔

(8)      ally[5AlaI]v.结盟, 同盟n.同盟国, 支持者

(9)      repeal[rI5pi:l]v.废止, 撤销, 废除n.废除, 撤销