World Conference against Racism 2001: what Wikipedia removed
The 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban is remembered for the walkout of the United States and Israeli delegations. The 2010 opening paragraph said the delegations called the conference itself a pretext for the airing of virulent anti-semitism. Today the opening attributes the walkout only to objections to a single draft document equating Zionism with racism, and antisemitism appears nowhere in it, though the word survives 10 times in the body. A reader today learns the delegations objected to one document, not that they described the conference itself as a venue for antisemitism.
The word “antisemitism” appeared 1 times in this article’s opening at its peak, in 2010. Today the opening carries none; the body carries 10. Checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01.
The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot
Section titled “The tracked words, snapshot by snapshot”| word | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 6 October 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| antisemitism | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| disputed | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Counts are of the opening paragraph only, the part most readers, search engines and AI training sets ever quote.
What was taken out
Section titled “What was taken out”- A basic definitional sentence naming the conference, superseded by a longer rewritten opening.
- A rewording of the sentence listing the conference’s controversial issues, not a factual removal.
- The characterization of the conference as a pretext for the airing of virulent antisemitism is gone, replaced by a narrower description of objections to a single draft document; a reader no longer learns the walkout was attributed to antisemitism at the conference itself.
How it opened then, and now
Section titled “How it opened then, and now”2010 (revision 370022295):
The 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR) , also known as Durban I , was held at the Durban International Convention Centre in Durban , South Africa , under UN auspices, from 31 August to 8 September 2001. The conference dealt with several controversial issues, including compensation for slavery and the actions of Israel. The language of the final Declaration and Programme of Action produced by the conference was strongly disputed in these areas, both in the preparatory meetings in the months that preceded the conference and during the conference itself. Two delegations, the United States and Israel, withdrew from the conference claiming the conference was merely a pretext for the airi…
2025 (revision 1297127105):
UN-backed conference “Durban Conference” redirects here. For the climate change summit, see 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference . The 2001 World Conference against Racism ( WCAR ), also known as Durban I , was held at the Durban International Convention Centre in Durban , South Africa, under UN auspices, from 31 August to 8 September 2001. The conference covered several controversial issues, including redress for transatlantic slavery and the second-class citizenry issue in Palestine-Israel. The language of the final Declaration and Programme of Action produced by the conference was strongly disputed in these areas, both in the preparatory meetings in the months that preceded the c…
Related
Section titled “Related”- The drift report: what changed across all 61,944 watched articles
- The case file for this article, with every snapshot and every marked removal
- Who made the cuts: removals grouped by the account that made them
- The live article on Wikipedia
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