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"’The secretary of state has clearly said in the past that the US should not take part in the conference,’ said Prof. Gerald Steinberg, executive director of the Jerusalem-based watchdog NGO Monitor. ‘So apparently there are different points of view being exchanged within the administration.’ Steinberg said the move was ‘troubling.’ ‘The Obama administration has taken a very bold and risky plunge by attempting to change the hate-filled agenda,’ he said. ‘It’s a strong litmus test for the administration. Success [in changing the agenda] or an American-led walkout will restore moral leadership and US influence. But a failure which reinforces the first Durban attack on human rights will do long-term damage throughout the world.’ There were no indications that Durban II would be any different than its predecessor, Steinberg said. ‘This time around it could be even worse,’ he said. ‘In 2001, there were two parallel sessions, a governmental forum and then an NGO forum. It was the latter that used the wording of ‘apartheid’ and ‘racism’ against Israel, but now it seems that, even though it’s unlikely that the NGOs will have a strong showing because of a lack of funding, the governments of Iran and Libya – who are heading the governmental forum – have adopted the same language as used by the NGOs in 2001.’ Based on that, the Americans were facing an uphill battle, Steinberg said. ‘The Europeans haven’t succeeded in changing the language, and there have been negotiations going since October,’ he said. ‘But the real question is, has the Obama administration really thought this through? I’m concerned that going into this blindly will cause a lot of damage, and could even have a negative impact on the peace process. It will be hard for any Israeli government to accept a proposal by Senator [George] Mitchell if the US is involved in this, because if the same Arab countries that are part of the Saudi peace plan are the ones leading this demonization of Israel, and the rest of the world is part of the process, it’s incompatible. You can’t say that Israel is an apartheid state, apply the South Africa model – which basically aims to annihilate Israel as a Jewish state, and then continue with peace negotiations.’ ‘If the US has not changed the language or the direction of the forum in two to three weeks,’ Steinberg said, ‘they will need to lead a walk-out for it to have any significance. After that, it will be too late.’"