Israel boycotted the UN conference, which started on Monday, over fears that it may become a platform for criticizing Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. The U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Poland and Italy also pulled out over the weekend because of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's participation.
"An international conference in which a racist like Ahmadinejad, who preaches daily about Israel's destruction, is allowed to speak, says all that needs to be said about its character and purpose," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was quoted as saying by Haaretz on Monday.
Lieberman also said that Iran has repeatedly called for the annihilation of Israel and the Iranian president is a well-known "Holocaust denier" and will give an address, "on the exact day that the Jewish people would be commemorating the deaths of some six million Jews killed in Europe by Nazi Germany and its allies."
Lieberman called for all nations to boycott the conference.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his regret at the boycott, but warned that the economic crisis could lead to a rise in racism: "today's economic crisis, if not handled properly, could evolve into a full-scale political crisis marked by social unrest, weakened governments and angry publics."
"Some nations, who by rights should be helping to forge a path to a better future are not here," Ban said. "Outside these halls, interest groups of many political and ideological stripes shout against one another in acrimony."
A number of European countries, including France, have said that if Ahmadinejad makes any anti-Semitic comments they will walk out.
