Government officials and international organizations recently joined together to take an important stand in identifying and combating antisemitism within the world body, in relation to remarks made by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine. Following is a collection of these statements and condemnations.
Government Officials
- U.S. Ambassador to the UNHRC Michèle Taylor: “We are appalled by recently uncovered antisemitic remarks on social media made by a UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur before taking on the role. References to the ‘Jewish Lobby’ are an age-old trope; this is outrageous, inappropriate, corrosive, & degrades the value of the UN.”[1]
- U.S. Special Envoy on Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt: “Such blatant antisemitic rhetoric–particularly when it’s an established pattern–is simply unacceptable. It severely undermines the credibility of the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur to deal with the issue of human rights in the context of Israel & the Palestinian territories”[2]
- U.S. House Representative Kathy Manning: “[Albanese’s rhetoric has been] completely unacceptable and frankly shocking. […] She made statements that were not true in her application which I think calls her fitness for that position into question. […] There’s also a code of conduct for mandate holders and I think she has violated that code of conduct.”[3]
- U.S. Congress, Bipartisan Letter of 11 Representatives: “We write to you today to express our opposition to Ms. Francesca Albanese continuing to serve as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories […] You have stated that ‘there is no room for antisemitism in the UN,’ but it seems you do have room for Special Rapporteur Albanese and others who have repeatedly made statements that are antisemitic. Failure to take meaningful action on repeated instances of antisemitism by UN officials undermines the UN’s credibility. We urge you to demonstrate that the UN is capable of genuinely addressing antisemitism by removing Ms. Albanese from her post.”[4]
- U.S. Public Delegate to UNGA Andrew Weinstein: “This report about UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese is appalling. Antisemitism should have no home at the United Nations.”[5]
- European Parliament Member Miriam M. Lexmann: “Appalling Antisemitic rhetoric from the UN Special Rapporteur. Ms Albanese must resign and apologise. A sad reflection on today’s state of the UN system that a Special Rapporteur was on human rights engages in such blatant Antisemitism.”[6]
- Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva: “Antisemitism is a persistent malice that has infected the United Nations Human Rights Council for far too long. Comments made by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese that surfaced today are yet another stain on the credibility of this body and yet another example of the impunity that exists today regarding antisemitism and antisemitic comments made by UN officials.”[7]
Institutions and Organizations
- Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio – ACOM (December 14, 2022)
- Adam & Gila Milstein Family Foundation (December 14, 2022)
- ADL (December 14, 2022)
- B’nai B’rith International (December 14, 2022)
- Simon Wiesenthal Center (December 14, 2022) (also SWC on Twitter)
- NGO Monitor (December 14, 2022)
- Stand With Us (December 14, 2022)
- WJC (December 15, 2022)
- AJC (December 16, 2022)
- FDD (January 13, 2023)
[1] @USAmbHRC, Twitter (December 14, 2022, 7:15 PM), https://twitter.com/USAmbHRC/status/1603091256082563075.
[2] @StateSEAS, Twitter (December 14, 2022, 11:49 PM), https://twitter.com/StateSEAS/status/1603160247417405441?s=20&t=xbr43QZuzCTIOKk2-rXbVA.
[3] Statement on Comments by UN SR Francesca Albanese, North Carolina Democrat and co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, Times of Israel (December 16, 2022), https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-palestinian-rights-investigator-denies-jewish-lobby-comments-are-antisemitic/.
[4] Letter by 11 Congressional Representatives to Secretary-General António Guterres and High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, U.S. Congress (January 23, 2023), https://sherman.house.gov/sites/sherman.house.gov/files/Letter.UN_.FrancescaAlbanese.FINAL_.pdf. See also @BradSherman, Twitter (January 24, 2023, 4:34 AM), https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1617727466101182465?s=20&t=5ZAfjtphjIMwx2HemAY9jw.
[5] @WeinsteinLaw, Twitter (December 16, 2022, 2:00 AM), https://twitter.com/Weinsteinlaw/status/1603540576124964864.
[6] @MiriamMLex, Twitter (December 15, 2022, 9:09 AM), https://twitter.com/MiriamMLex/status/1603286073056153602.
[7] Statement on Comments by UN SR Francesca Albanese, Mission of Israel to the UN in Geneva (December 14, 2022), https://embassies.gov.il/UnGeneva/NewsAndEvents/MediaStatements/Pages/20221412-Statement-Remarks-Made-By-UN-Special-Rapporteur-Francesca-Albanese.aspx. See also @IsraelinGeneva, Twitter (December 14, 2022, 1:36 PM), https://twitter.com/IsraelinGeneva/status/1603006118250381313.
