New York, N.Y., November 26, 2001... Calling the reconvening of the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention "extremely counterproductive and harmful to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations," the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has asked EU member nations to reconsider attending the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting, set for December 5th in Geneva, Switzerland, is the discussion of alleged Israeli violations of the Convention in its treatment of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The United States announced it will not attend the meeting.

In letters sent to EU member-nations, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said:

It is our strong belief that this reconvening of the High Contracting Parties would be extremely counterproductive and harmful to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

This highly political meeting, whose entire reconvening demonstrates an existing predisposition against Israel, will undoubtedly serve to undermine the United States' initiative to end the violence in the region and renew negotiations-an initiative that has the support of the international community.

Unfortunately, this reconvening serves to legitimize the Palestinian tactic of using the international community, and the United Nations in particular, as a forum for airing grievances regarding Israel, rather than resolving such matters through bilateral negotiations.

Such an effort was clearly evident at the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, last summer, where important issues of racism and prejudice were ignored in favor of highly politicized and inflammatory anti-Israel and anti-Jewish resolutions.

Moreover, the reconvening of the High Contracting Parties to discuss these issues will dangerously violate and politicize the Geneva Convention and its important humanitarian purpose.

The Foreign Ministers of Austria, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Great Britain received this correspondence.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.