"We applaud Italy for its principled decision not to participate in a conference that seems determined to repeat, if not exceed, the disgrace of Durban in 2001," said David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee.

Harris said in a statement he hoped the rest of the EU would join the pullout.

Also on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry in Rome said Frattini's visit to Tehran was postponed in part because of "unacceptable" statements by Iran's supreme leader.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of following the same path as the Bush administration with his "unconditional" support of Israel. Khamenei also called Israel a "cancerous tumor" that is on the verge of collapse.

Maybe all is not lost in Europe, nice to see Italy's response, hope the rest of the EU follows suit.

If any country can be called a cancerous tumor, Iran itself fits their own misguided description.

In typical United Nations fashion all their conferences on "racism" are simply exercises in anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism.

I'm still wondering what a "so-called religion" has to do with "racism"