Speaking at the U.N. Human Rights Council on behalf of UN Watch, terror survivor and human rights attorney Arsen Ostrovsky delivers a harrowing and emotional testimony regarding the rise of antisemitism. Having traveled from Sydney to address the Council’s review of Australia, Ostrovsky details his personal experience surviving a brutal terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed and he was shot in the head.

Full Speech:

Mr President, Excellencies, My name is Arsen Ostrovsky. I have travelled from Sydney today to speak not only on behalf of UN Watch and the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, but as a survivor of antisemitic terror.

Last November, Australia submitted its Universal Periodic Review to this Council. But just weeks later, during a Chanukah celebration on Bondi Beach, my country suffered the worst terror attack in our history.

Fifteen people, including a 10-year-old girl, were murdered. I was at the festival with my family, but was shot in the head when I ran towards them.

I speak before you today though not seeking sympathy, but sounding a warning. That hatred directed at Jews, when ignored, excused or mainstreamed, inevitably leads to violence.

Mr. President, Excellencies, Bondi did not occur in a vacuum. It was built chant-by-chant, march-by-march.

For two years, repeated warnings from the Jewish community went largely unheeded. Synagogues firebombed. Jewish children harassed. People afraid to wear the Star of David. Even teachers now reluctant to teach about the Holocaust for fear of causing offence.

This should indeed concern us all. As the late Chief Rabbi Sacks warned, antisemitism is the early warning sign of a wider societal breakdown.

When antisemitism is allowed to thrive, it erodes the very foundations of a free society: tolerance, social cohesion, the rule of law and moral clarity.

Australia has taken important steps, including establishing a Royal Commission into Antisemitism, which I addressed just days ago. But more must be done.

I urge this Council to encourage Australia to confront antisemitism in all its forms, including when it masquerades as anti-Zionism, so every citizen can live openly and safely.

Because history teaches while Jews may be the first target when antisemitism flourishes, we are seldom the last.

Thank you.

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In a letter sent today by UN Watch, an independent Swiss non-governmental watchdog group that holds special consultative status with the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is being asked to take action to remove Francesca Albanese from her post as the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur tasked with investigating “Israel’s violations.”

The full text of the letter follows below.

_________

22 November 2023

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
The United Nations
New York, NY 10027
United States

Dear Secretary-General Guterres,

We are deeply concerned over gross violations of UN rules and basic professional ethics by Ms. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights. Her recent trip to Australia as Special Rapporteur was sponsored by known Palestinian lobby groups in that country: The Australian Friends of Palestine Association and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, as well as the Free Palestine Melbourne and Palestinian Christians in Australia. As part of this trip, Ms. Albanese delivered the annual Edward Said Memorial Lecture in Adelaide and made media appearances, including an address to the National Press Club, in which she repeatedly echoed the Hamas narrative, claiming Israel’s right to self-defence was “non-existent.”

As you know, independence and impartiality are basic requirements for UNHRC Special Procedures under Article 3 of the Code of Conduct, which requires them to be “free from any kind of extraneous influence…either direct or indirect.” In addition, they may not “seek nor accept instructions” from any “non-governmental organization or pressure group whatsoever,” or accept any “favour, gift or remuneration” from any ”non-governmental source for activities carried out in pursuit of his/her mandate.”

The lobbyists’ sponsorship of Ms. Albanese’s trip constitutes a blatantly prohibited form of favour, gift or remuneration under Article 3. The financial favour further subjects Albanese to prohibited direct or indirect influence. Indeed, these groups have urged her to sue an organization that called out­­­ her pro-Hamas remarks. All of this is on top of Ms. Albanese’s disgraceful antisemitism and support for terrorism.

She has said that “America is subjugated by the Jewish Lobby.”

Last year, she told a Hamas conference, “You have a right to resist.”

Since October 7^th, she has whitewashed Hamas’ atrocities. She routinely portrays Israelis as Nazis.

In light of the above gross violations of UN rules and basic ethics, we urge you to take action to remove Ms. Albanese immediately from her position as Special Rapporteur.

­­­

Sincerely,

Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

BREAKING: Expensive Australian trip by pro-Hamas UN official was funded by Palestinian lobby groups in breach of UN's own Code of Conduct that bars experts from taking any gift, favor or remuneration. We filed papers with @antonioguterres calling for Francesca Albanese's removal. pic.twitter.com/vdQpKlc81K

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 22, 2023

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At the conclusion of the visit, the Working Group will hold a press conference to announce its preliminary findings, conclusions and recommendations. A report on the country visit will be presented to the Human Rights Council in September 2021.

The working group condemned as arbitrary and illegal Australia’s indefinite incarceration of refugees and asylum seekers, issuing critical statements on five separate cases in a year.

https://twitter.com/CaruanaSteven/status/1219148653849280513

Important lessons from latest report of the European CPT on #Denmark as #Australia prepares to welcome the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of #Torture and Working Group on Arbitrary #Detention. #refugee #migration #SPT #OPCAT #WGAD https://t.co/TN1zE4GOAp pic.twitter.com/pZFvGrYMX0

— Madeline Gleeson (@madelinegleeson) February 3, 2020

https://twitter.com/DrHarryLime/status/1221225995245481984

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Prime Minister Stephen Morrison: On indulgence, I rise to acknowledge the 70th anniversary of Australia’s formal diplomatic relationship with the State of Israel and affirm our deep friendship with the people of Israel—and, in doing that, I welcome the ambassador here with us in the chamber today.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Prime Minister Stephen Morrison: In any long friendship there are moments that matter and moments never forgotten. For Australia and Israel it was in 1947 and it was in the United Nations. There was at that point no nation of Israel. Instead, there were broken and scarred Jewish people scattered around the world in places like Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau and Buchenwald. Though they no longer existed as state sponsored machines of death, they seemed more real than a permanent home for the Jewish people at that time. It was as if darkness and hopelessness had covered the Jewish people as the true extent of the Holocaust became known. Maybe it was for such times that the Book of Joel spoke of young men seeing visions and old men dreaming dreams—and the age-old dream, in the words of David Ben-Gurion was ‘the redemption of Israel’.

It was in this setting that Australia chaired the 1947 UN committee that voted in favour of dividing the territory of mandate Palestine. On 29 November 1947 at the United Nations General Assembly, Australia joined 32 other nations in successfully voting for the partition plan. Looking back across seven decades it might seem that that was a simple thing to do and an obvious choice to make, but it was neither of those things. Australia made, in the words of Doc Evatt, who was instrumental in this recognition, ‘an inevitable and just choice to stand with the Jewish people of the world and their vision for a Jewish state and a place of sanctuary where they would never again, and should never again, face persecution.’

Australia extended official recognition to the State of Israel in January 1949. In May of that same year Australia was proud to preside over the vote which formally admitted Israel as a member of the United Nations. As that new nation formed, the Jewish people arrived, in the words of David Ben-Gurion, ‘with the dew of dreams still moist in our hearts’. Our small part, Australia’s part, is a legacy of which we proud, and one we hold dear today as we mark this anniversary. In the words of our then Prime Minister: ‘The new nation of Israel will be a force of special value in the world community, and it’s recognition was fair and just’—and so it has proved to be.

Today Israel’s light is now a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Ours is a 70-year long friendship between two peoples which share a commitment to democracy and the rule of law; have a multicultural character; and are committed to science and research, to a free press, to prosperity for our people and to innovation to overcome the challenges of our often hostile natural environments.

My government has resolved to ensure our commitment to Israel remains as firm today and in the future as it indeed was 70 years ago for Australia. That is why our government has acted for Australia to now recognise West Jerusalem, the seat of the Knesset and many institutions of government, as the capital of the state of Israel. We look forward moving our embassy to West Jerusalem when practical in support of and after the final status determination of a two-state solution. And, in the spirit of a two-state solution, we acknowledge the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a future state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

My government is also currently establishing a trade and defence office in West Jerusalem to enhance and support our deepening collaboration on trade, defence industries, investment and innovation. Just as it was 70 years ago, it remains in our national interests to see Israel continue to flourish as a liberal, participatory democracy in the Middle East. And, now as then, Australia continues to strongly support Israel’s right to exist within secure and internationally recognised borders.

But my government won’t just proclaim these words and sentiments; we will continue to act on them and not step back from or shrink from our commitments. This includes standing by Israel in the face of biased and unfair targeting of Israel in the UN General Assembly. The UN General Assembly is now the place where Israel is bullied and where anti-Semitism is cloaked in the language of human rights. Think about it: a nation of immigrants, with a free press and parliamentary democracy, which is financially prosperous, the source of innovation in the world and a refuge from persecution and genocide is somehow now the centre of cruelty in the world, according to some in the UN. That is intellectual fraud. Last year, there were 17 UN General Assembly resolutions critical of Israel. This compared with a total of five covering all other countries, including Myanmar, the Syrian Arab Republic, Russia’s actions in Crimea and the Ukraine, Iran and North Korea. This year the Human Rights Council passed six motions condemning Israel compared to a total of 14 across the rest of the world.

Last year, at my direction, Australia opposed six resolutions that attacked Israel in the UN General Assembly. These included the Jerusalem resolution, which contains biased and one-sided language attacking Israel and denies its historical connection to the city; and the Peaceful Settlement of Question of Palestine resolution, which confers on the Palestinian Authority a status it does not have. In the past, we’d abstained on these resolutions—not anymore and not on my watch.

My government will not turn a blind eye to an anti-Semitic agenda masquerading as defence of human rights in the UN. This is also extended to calling out those who would seek to wipe Israel from the map. Again at my direction, last year, Australia supported an UN General Assembly resolution to condemn the egregious and ongoing violent acts of the terrorist organisation Hamas. Hamas are violent extremists, terrorists who use the Israel-Palestine conflict as an excuse to inflict terror. They should have no friends at the UN. The failure of that resolution to pass with the requisite majority was an indictment, I think, on the UN. Australia condemns Hamas’s activities in the strongest possible terms.

Now, of course, our partnership has always been underpinned by the peoples of our nations. Australia’s Jewish community began with those who arrived on the First Fleet. Though persecuted in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Australia has been, to quote the words of the member for Berowra, a land, ‘almost uniquely in human history, good to the Jewish people.’ Though numbering about one-hundredth of our population, Australians of Jewish heritage have made a remarkable contribution to our national life and our story. We are the nation of John Monash, of Isaac Isaacs, Sir Zelman Cowen, Governor Linda Dessau, Frank Lowy, Harry Triguboff, Joan Rosanove and thousands more who, in their own way, have all sought to be the light unto the nations, performing the mitzvot, or good deeds, according to the law of Moses.

Australia has been a steadfast and loyal friend to Israel since its very creation, and I can assure this House, the people of Australia and our friends in Israel that the Liberal and National Parties will never walk back or shrink from the recognition that Australia now affords Israel, and the commitments and support for the state of Israel, whether in the General Assembly of the United Nations or elsewhere.

We know this is about Israel. They are a steadfast and loyal friend. Seventy years on, this parliament restates our commitment to Israel, to its people and to the deep friendship between our nations. We are friends who have always stood with each other, and may that always be the case.

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Oral Statement by United Nations Watch
Agenda Item 3 ID with Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
UN Human Rights Council, 38th Session
Delivered by Mr. Hillel Neuer, 20 June 2018

I thank you, Madam Rapporteur, for your report. You refer in paragraph 2 to your global implementation plan on violence against women. In that regard, I wish to ask: What is your methodology for deciding which countries to examine?
Based on a human rights methodology, I would think that you would make your selection based on the severity of the violations, and based on how many people are affected. And that you would exercise your full right to report on the worst abusers, even if they deny you access.
Now, based on severity, is there a reason why you did not examine Saudi Arabia, where pervasive domestic violence against women takes place in a context where guardianship laws prevent women from taking any legal decision without the approval of her male guardian; where a woman’s testimony in court is worth half that of a man, and where twelve women’s rights activists have been arrested in the past month, including activists Nouf Abdelaziz and Mayaa al-Zahrani?
Based on severity is there a reason you did not examine Iran, where domestic violence against women has doubled in the past year?
Is there a reason why you have not examined Pakistan, where the justice system protects the perpetrators of crimes against women, tribal courts sentence women to death for honor crimes, and where the high court just acquitted the man who stabbed Khadija Sidiwwui 23 times, even though the stabbing was caught on tape?
Now, based on the number of women affected, is there a reason why you have not examined China, which has one fifth of the world’s population, where forced abortions and sterilizations are estimated by the Chinese government itself to have prevented up to 400 million births? Or why you haven’t examined Russia, where the law fails to protect women from domestic violence?
I see, however, that you did visited Australia, an open society, perhaps one of the best when it comes to women, though there are problems there and everywhere, and that you did visit the Bahamas in mid-December, population 400,000.
Madam Rapporteur, based on human rights, what is your methodology? I thank you.

UN expert Dubravka Simonovic delivered the following response:

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Testimony before the UN Human Rights Council by the Hon. Michael Danby, MP from Australia, September 26, 2016.

Thank you, Mr. President.

My name is Michael Danby, member of the Australian Parliament. I have the honour to take the floor today on behalf of United Nations Watch.

Australia has announced its candidacy next year to join this Human Rights Council. I support this bid, in the firm belief that Australia can contribute to the global protection of human rights—and to this Council’s founding promise, of renouncing the bias, selectivity and politicization of its discredited predecessor.

Australians have a historic connection to the United Nations and its human rights system. After World War II, Australian Foreign Minister Dr. H. V. Evatt played a key role in establishing the UN. As President of the General Assembly in 1948, he helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose core guarantee, reaffirmed by the Vienna Declaration, is the right to life.

 Sadly, however, this is being violated. The most glaring example is the massacre of innocent civilians in Syria. As we assemble, over the past few days the world has witnessed the unprecedented escalation of the murder and maiming of hundreds of men, women and children in Aleppo.

When a UN-backed humanitarian convoy—bringing life-saving aid to hundreds of thousands in that besieged city—was deliberately bombed last week by waves of airstrikes, this Council ought to have convened an urgent debate—and still should.

Mr. President, we ask: As the world watches hospitals and first responders being deliberately bombed, and running water cut off for an entire city, why is this Council silent?

Is it because this Council has instead focused on condemning the democratic country of Israel—under a special agenda item to which no other country is subject—in debates held both last Friday and today?

Are the perpetrators of this mass murder—Syria’s Assad regime, Iran, and their backer Russia—granted impunity because Russia is an elected member of this Council, now seeking re-election?

I thank you, Mr. President.

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Appalled by reported Richard Falk comments on Israel: disgraceful and not befitting a UN Special Rapporteur.

— Dave Sharma (@AusAmbIsrael) December 19, 2013

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Appalled by reported Richard Falk comments on Israel: disgraceful and not befitting a UN Special Rapporteur.

— Dave Sharma (@AusAmbIsrael) December 19, 2013

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