Correspondence Between HRF and the U.S. State Department About the 2004 OSCE Berlin Conference on Antisemitism
The U.S. government's delegation to the OSCE Conference on Antisemitism was led by Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Secretary attended the opening day's meeting and spoke about the need for greater official attention to the problem of antisemitism. Secretary Powell committed to attend the meeting after intense lobbying by human rights and Jewish organizations. Human Rights First urged Secretary of State Colin Powell to attend the meeting, arguing that the presence of a senior U.S. government official would set a benchmark for other governments and strengthen both the level of participation at the meeting and its potential to yield meaningful commitments. Human Rights First supporters generated more than 1,000 letters urging the Secretary to attend.