MEDIA RELEASE

“Side by Side: Tackling Racism Together”

Fringe Meeting at the Durban Review Conference

The Jewish Human Rights Coalition UK, along with UK Muslim activists and the Head of the British student movement, called yesterday for enhanced cooperation in combating racism at a fringe meeting during the Durban Review Conference in Geneva.

Over 200 senior NGO activists and governmental delegates heard how the Muslim, Jewish and student communities work together to enhance community cohesion and tackle racism and discrimination head on.

The panel debate chaired by Rosalind Preston, OBE, co-Chair of the Jewish Human Rights Coalition-UK, focused upon the successful work undertaken by the National Union of Students - under the leadership of President Wes Streeting - on tackling racism and discrimination across university campuses. Muslim activist Rokhsana Fiaz, co-founder of interfaith organisation Alif-Aleph UK, an initiative of the Uniting British Trust, described her experiences as a British Muslim and interfaith activist.

“There is no hierarchy of racism,”

said Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students.

“Every time someone is attacked for their race or ethnicity that is one person too many.  Every time a group is attacked is one group too many.  Our legislation supports this.  Our university campuses have no platform policies in place to prevent individuals and groups espousing racist and fascist views that have no place on our campuses.  No speaker can abuse freedom of speech.  All our students have the right to study in an atmosphere free from racism and discrimination.”

“Unfortunately, the denigration of the Jewish people is prevalent across sections of the Muslim World,”

said Rokhsana Fiaz, co-Founder of interfaith organisation Alif-Aleph UK, an initiative of the Uniting British Trust

“This expression needs to be challenged, confronted and countered.  We need to develop a vehicle for engagement, to bring British Muslim and Jewish communities together”

“Part of our presence at Durban II was about correcting the travesty whereby Jewish voices were silenced at the original Durban Conference.”

said Jeremy Newmark, CEO of the Jewish Leadership Council (speaking on behalf of the JHRC-UK).

“This meeting enabled us to clearly demonstrate the leading role our community plays in fighting prejudice and working with other communities.  We were delighted with both the size and quality of the audience. We achieved our objective in showing that outside of the politics of the United Nations many Jews and Muslims work positively together to tackle these problems.”

The Jewish Human Rights Coalition-UK, established in 2007 to help combat racism and human rights abuses, consists of senior representatives from a cross section of Jewish organisations, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Community Security Trust, the Holocaust Educational Trust, B’nai B’rith London Bureau of International Affairs and the Jewish Leadership Council.

ENDS