The United Nations End of the Decade Women’s Conference adopted a consensus final document on strategies for women to the year 2000 which after days of acrimonious debate, wrangling, and anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric, was free of any explicit reference to Zionism as a form of racism.
This was clearly a victory for Israel and Western democracies which had indicated that they would not vote for or agree to any document which included the formula equating Zionism with racism. It was also a victory in contrast to the two previous UN women’s conferences, in Mexico City and in Copenhagen, where documents including the equation were adopted, both in opposition to Israel, the United States and some Western countries.
Bernice Tannenbaum, chairperson of the World Zionist Organization-American Section, a delegate to this conference who had attended the mid-decade conference in Copenhagen, said that the Israeli and Jewish delegates here were better prepared this time to prevent unduly virulent attacks on Zionism.
She asserted that the American delegation, led by Maureen Reagan, supported the Jewish and Israeli delegates all the way and cited as evidence a Senate resolution passed two weeks ago that called for the repudiation of Zionism as racism and urged parliaments all over the world to pass similar resolutions.
Beverly Davis, president of B’nai B’rith Women International, a delegate to the conference, said that if Zionism had been attacked in the final version in the consensus document, the American Jewish delegation was prepared to walk out of the gathering.
She said that for the past three years, tremendous outreach efforts had been made by Jewish women around the world to impart a greater understanding of the real meaning and contributions of Zionism to issues affecting women. As a result of this effort, Davis said that many non-Jewish women here were less hostile and more understanding.
KENYA PLAYED A KEY ROLE
A key role in the wording of the final consensus document was played by the Kenyan delegation. Acting as peacemaker and negotiator in an effort to safeguard the consensus when the issue of including Zionism nearly divided the conference and endangered the possibility of a consensus statement, the Kenyan delegation appealed to the African delegates, in a special meeting called during a recess in the last hours of the conference Friday, to mediate with Arab delegations for the benefit and good of the conference in developing forward-looking strategies for women worldwide.
When the session reconvened, the Kenyan delegation proposed an amendment to the proposed document that deleted the word Zionism from the text of Paragraph 95 that compared it to apartheid, racism, imperialism and colonialism. Instead, the phrase “and all other forms of racism” was inserted.
The first to respond to the amendment was the Soviet delegation, saying they would accept the new wording on the basis of consensus, not vote. As consensus began to gather momentum the Palestine Liberation Organization delegates said they, too, were willing to accept the wording although they would have preferred the original text with its outright condemnation of Zionism.
Subsequent delegations to take part in the discussion praised the PLO for its “magnanimity” and for its “statesmanship.” When the amendment was finally adopted it was clear that it had been accepted on the merit of its implicit condemnation of Zionism, as many delegates assumed that the phrase, “and all other forms of racism,” alluded to Zionism. Not until the amendment was adopted did the conference president, Margaret Kenyatta, recognize Alan Keyes, the only male on the 33-member U.S. delegation.
U.S. DENOUNCES NEFARIOUS EQUATION
Keyes, in a forceful statement, said that “no amount of repetition, no amount, shall render that slanderous lie (Zionism is racism) truthful.” He was greeted with fierce booing from the floor.
Reagan denounced the “vicious slander” that developed in 1975, at the first women’s decade conference in Mexico City, against Zionism in what she said was a transparent attempt to link Zionism with racism. She pledged that the U.S. would not accept any document that treats Zionism as racism or any other evil.
Paragraph 95, which originally included Zionism in a list of major obstacles to development, alongside racism and colonialism, originated at a meeting in New York last spring. It was proposed by the Soviet Union and was boosted by Iran and Syria. It was met with disapproval by Western countries.
During the conference here, delegations, including the U.S., Canada and Britain, declared that their full support of the forward-looking strategies document was contingent upon the deletion of the word Zionism in Paragraph 95.
OTHER ISSUES DEALT WITH
Following the debate on the issue of Zionism in the document, the conference adopted paragraphs dealing with terrorism, apartheid, and Palestinian women and children. The U.S. was alone in voting not to impose economic sanctions on South Africa.
A recommendation to adopt the proposed harsh text that assessed the plight of Palestinian women and children and that declared that the Palestinian people have a right to create their own state, was proposed by Egypt in a conciliatory gesture to those delegates who earlier had voted for the amendment on Zionism.
During the vote on this segment of the document, 97 of the 150 delegations favored adopting the harsher position, 29 delegations, mainly Western nations, abstained and Israel, Australia and the U.S. voted for the more moderate position.
The final piece of business conducted just before the conference ended, was ascertaining full agreement from each delegation to sign the document, a feat at any UN conference, historic at this one.
Reagan noted that two kinds of delegations came to Nairobi: Those interested in political causes. “I’m glad that those who came to further women’s causes triumphed,” she declared.
The Israeli delegation expressed relief and jubilation that Zionism does not appear in any part of the forward-looking strategies. Delegate Tamar Eshel said, “The fact that the conference took place in Africa had a great influence on its success. Kenya, our host country, cannot be congratulated enough on its positive role and leadership.” Sarah Doron, head of the delegation from Israel, expressed satisfaction with the conference and declared it a great victory for women — the first successful conference of the decade.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
