The Zionism-is-racism issue is the most explosive, of several incendiary matters, threatening to derail the August U.N. World Conference against Racism in South Africa, according to a senior U.N. official.
In 1975, the U.N. General Assembly passed, by a 75-35 vote, a resolution that "condemned Zionism as a threat to world peace and security." It stayed on the books - and was one of the prime reasons for the erosion of U.S. support for the U.N. - until 1991, when it was repealed by a vote of 111 to 25.
Generally, Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to a state of their own in Palestine. Those who believe it is racist argue that Judaism is a religion; and that to give the Jews, regardless of where they were born, an intrinsic right to a homeland in what is now Israel, discriminates against Palestinian Christians and Muslims
indigenous to the region.
The argument that Zionism is racist has popped up in U.N. circles periodically since 1991 - pushed by Lebanon and Syria. But the fighting, that has raged in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since September, has given it a new lease on life. Also, it resurfaced at a recent meeting of Arab non-governmental organizations preparing for the conference.
Jewish groups are already bracing themselves. "Without a doubt, there will be a strong lobby at this conference to raise this resolution yet again," said Karen Mock, president of B'nai Brith Canada. "There is a large Arab lobby at the U.N."