Human Rights Watch Archives - UN Watch https://unwatch.org/tag/human-rights-watch/ Monitoring the UN Promoting Human Rights Thu, 04 Jan 2024 09:09:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Whistleblower from Human Rights Watch: “HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses“ https://unwatch.org/whistleblower-from-human-rights-watch-hrw-has-so-little-credibility-for-most-israelis-they-do-not-even-trust-it-with-their-corpses/ Sat, 25 Nov 2023 18:52:45 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=568993 Farewell email from Human Rights Watch’s Danielle Haas to her colleagues: Dear Human Rights Watch, Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a […]

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]]> Farewell email from Human Rights Watch’s Danielle Haas to her colleagues:

Dear Human Rights Watch,

Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a mission to “Expose. Investigate. Change” can do just that when it comes to its own practices regarding its Israel work, with authenticity and without retaliation.

When I joined Human Rights Watch over 13 years ago as senior editor, I did so with years of experience in journalism covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and time in academia.

Human Rights Watch seemed to be a good blend of both; a leading human rights organization dedicated to rigorous research, focused on international law and human suffering, with a mandate to bring about change. I believed in, and stayed for, the broader mission.

But as the organization grew and its composition shifted, so too did the focus, tone, and framing of its Israel-Palestine work. Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7, years of institutional creep culminated in organizational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness, and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all.

HRW’s initial reactions to the Hamas attacks failed to condemn outright the murder, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli men, women, and children. They included the “context” of “apartheid” and “occupation” before blood was even dry on bedroom walls. These responses were not, as some have since characterized it internally, a messaging misstep in the tumult after the Hamas assault. It was not the failure of a few to follow robust internal mechanisms of editing and quality control, as others have claimed.

It did not happen in a vacuum.

Rather, HRW’s initial response was the fruition of years of politicization of its Israel-Palestine work that has frequently violated basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality when it comes to Israel.

It was the expression of years of select historical and political framing that could always contextualize and “explain” why Jewish Israeli lives were lost in Palestinian violence.

And it was the domination of HRW’s Israel-Palestine work by some voices that drown out others to the point where those who feel uncomfortable with HRW’s approach and processes – and they do exist – feel silenced.

To be clear: focus on, and criticism of, Israeli policies and actions is valid for a human rights organization.

But what I know from over 13 years at HRW is:

* Israel has featured in the World Report annual global review of human rights I oversaw for more than a decade almost as extensively as world powers including China, Russia, and the United States, and that the Israel-Palestine chapter has always been longer than those of rights-abusing goliaths such as Iran and North Korea.

* The 2021 “Apartheid” report, hailed internally in its goal to affect “narrative change,” sealed the slide. HRW knew its careful, legal argument would rarely be read in full. And there is little doubt it has not been by those – including Hamas supporters – who now bandy about the term with appalling ease. It’s a one-word gift to those who want to characterize Israel in as few words as possible with as little nuance as possible, a go-to “context” for any fate that befalls Israel and Jewish Israelis; 120 HRW researchers recently signed a petition calling for its inclusion in a press release about Israeli hostages.

* Internal fora nominally dedicated to both Israel and Palestine were, in practice, mostly dedicated to expressions of outrage over Israeli abuses and their consequences, both real and speculated. The focus on Israel dominated those spaces both before and after October 7, including the links shared; the space given to colleagues to articulate their lived realities and trauma; and ultimately advocacy.

* Some types of Israeli-Palestine expertise were valued more than others. There was no value placed on having a Jewish Israeli staff member who spoke Hebrew, had covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for international media, a rich academic background, and 17 years’ immersion in the country. The profile of those entrusted with HRW’s-related work is different. The only contact I had with Israel-Palestine content over the years, despite working on virtually every other area of the world, was as World Report editor. I received thinly veiled insinuations and pushback when I highlighted factual inaccuracies in the Israel-Palestine chapter that were later corrected.

* HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses. Zaka, the emergency responder group that collected body parts after the Hamas massacres, said it did not want to talk to HRW because its members did not have faith the organization would not misuse and distort their eyewitness accounts of the carnage they had seen.

* When I named the constellation of my experiences over years to a senior manager as feeling a lot like antisemitism, he replied: “You are probably right.” He did not ask or do anything further.

Three weeks after the October 7 massacres, Human Rights Watch told staff it was “proud” of its response to the crisis.

The self-affirmation failed to address output that included, but is not limited to:

HRW’s first matter-of-fact announcement following the October 7 massacres that barely addressed what had happened, contrasting starkly with its thousands of statements over the years condemning a range of human rights abuses:

“Palestinian armed groups carried out a deadly assault on October 7, 2023, that killed several hundred Israeli civilians and led to Israeli counterstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said in releasing a questions and answers document about the international humanitarian law standards governing the current hostilities.”

An early press release that could easily be construed as blaming the victim:

“The unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded.”

A piece on Israeli attacks on Gaza being devastating for Palestinians with disabilities that failed to mention the devastating impact of Hamas’ attacks on Israelis with disabilities. They included those murdered on October 7, among them a 17-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy killed at a music festival; those who are now disabled because of the attacks; and Israeli hostages with pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart problems to diabetes.

Lack of context when using controversial figures that came from a Hamas-run ministry:

“[Washington Post] Reporter Adam Taylor quoted Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch Omar Shakir, who said, “Everyone uses the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry because those are generally proven to be reliable. In the times in which we have done our own verification of numbers for particular strikes, I’m not aware of any time which there’s been some major discrepancy.”

It is not logical, not possible, and not the case that everyone at HRW agrees with its pre- and post-October 7 Israel work or feels safe. Instead, it is a deeply worrying indication that staff are self-censoring because they fear isolation if they speak and that nothing will be done even if they do. It is a warning that they are cowed by the way in which critics of Human Rights Watch are talked about internally, and by the tone and content of banter before and during meetings, in listservs, and in message chats.

Maybe they’re also not reassured by responses like the one senior management sent me regarding a recent email I sent them, in which they said they “appreciate” my “feedback” and “learn” from it.

I hope so, but I doubt it.

The serious professional concerns I raised over the years with the Program Office, General Counsel, and MENA managers never went anywhere. They were always received – it appeared – through a filter of me being a Jew and/or Israeli, even though Muslim and Arab staff and those with overt political backgrounds are trusted as advocates and to oversee research.

Also, my comments are not “feedback.”

Rather, they amount to a charge and a challenge to Human Rights Watch: tackle the long-standing issues infecting your Israel work and the hostile internal climate that Hamas’ attacks brought into sharp relief but did not birth. Face down the conscious and unconscious biases that inform them. Address inaccuracies by omission.

Do so not because you are under pressure to be seen to be listening, but because you respect the professionalism and expertise of your many thoughtful, serious colleagues from diverse backgrounds who cannot do their work without fear of stigma and retaliation if they speak.

Do so because you care about the health of the organization, upholding your internal standards, and ensuring human rights advocacy is not a fig leaf for political beliefs, or worse.

Do so because you want not just to claim your mantle of moral authority, but to earn it.

Dani

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]]> Human Rights Watch Chief Ken Roth Spreads Israel Coronavirus Vaccination Lie https://unwatch.org/human-rights-watch-chief-ken-roth-spreads-israel-coronavirus-vaccination-lie/ Fri, 08 Jan 2021 14:28:17 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=548771 As Israel’s world-leading coronavirus vaccination program makes international headlines, Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth rushed to Twitter to spread the lie that Israel is committing an act of racism by not vaccinating all Palestinians living under Hamas rule in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. But in a January 4th Twitter […]

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]]> As Israel’s world-leading coronavirus vaccination program makes international headlines, Human Rights Watch executive director Ken Roth rushed to Twitter to spread the lie that Israel is committing an act of racism by not vaccinating all Palestinians living under Hamas rule in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

But in a January 4th Twitter thread seen more than 200,000 times (see below), UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer explained why Roth’s claims are a deception.

Neuer also called out Roth’s colleague Omar Shakir, as well as Amnesty International, for propagating the same libel:

 

Palestinian Authority Officials Contradict Themselves

Since then, the Palestinians have contradicted themselves numerous times. In late December, PA Health Ministry officials said that they did not ask Israel to provide the Palestinians with the vaccine. But when they saw that anti-Israel critics began propagating the successful smear, the PA suddenly released a statement claiming that Israel is nevertheless responsible for providing vaccines. The PA made this statement even as they were busy signing their own deal with the AstraZeneca pharmaceutical firm, as well as procuring the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization’s mission to the Palestinians, Gerald Rockenschaub, has clarified that “informal discussions” between Israel and the WHO took place — contrary to false claims that Israel had refused an official WHO request to supply Palestinians with vaccines.

 

Liked and Shared

Neuer’s Twitter thread was liked or shared by former Member of European Parliament Bas Belder, former Dutch MP Jacques Monasch, former and current Israeli diplomats Daniel Carmon, Arthur Lenk, Tania Berg-Rafaeli and Galit Peleg, former Canadian ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici, Jewish Agency spokesperson Yigal Palmor, editor David Hazony, Toronto Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein and French lawyer and columnist William Goldnadel.

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]]> Human Rights Watch chief mocks Jews https://unwatch.org/human-rights-watch-chief-mocks-jews/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 18:26:35 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=546776 Following is an open letter from UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer to Human Rights Watch chief Ken Roth, which went viral on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/photos/a.424734911728/10160003094311729/?type=3&theater   Dear Ken Roth, Today you revealed you love peace like the harlot revealed her love for the baby whom she asked King Solomon to cut into two. You chose to use […]

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]]> Following is an open letter from UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer to Human Rights Watch chief Ken Roth, which went viral on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/photos/a.424734911728/10160003094311729/?type=3&theater

 

Dear Ken Roth,

Today you revealed you love peace like the harlot revealed her love for the baby whom she asked King Solomon to cut into two.

You chose to use a Yiddish word—something you never do—purely to mock Jews celebrating the Israel-UAE peace accord.

Otherwise, you never use Jewish words or ideas, or make any positive Jewish references at all.

Your contemptuous actions, comments and attitude toward Jews, Judaism and the Jewish state over decades make one thing clear: you are ashamed of your Jewish identity.

That is why, every single day, you devote your foul, fervid fury to depicting the Jewish state in Nazi-like terms.

This year alone, you accused Israel of “war crimes” 10 times more than you did against Iran, Syria, Hamas, Russia, China and Venezuela — put together. Likewise, over an 18-month period in 2017-2018, you devoted more than 70% of your tweets alleging “illegal” acts to the criticism of only one single country: Israel. By contrast, only 1% of your tweets accused Syria, Russia, Iraq, Libya or Yemen of the same.

Even the founder of your organization, my late friend Robert Bernstein, saw how your pathological self-hatred led you down the dark path of defending terrorist groups that seek Israel’s destruction — and Bob denounced you for it in the New York Times.

Human rights is not your real motive, but invoking its precepts grants you the cover of virtue even as you act out your bigotry, aggression and hostility toward a people that, throughout history, has always been the easiest and most career-enhancing to target.

It’s time for you to go — and if not, I call on Human Rights Watch to fire you.

Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director
United Nations Watch
Geneva, Switzerland

 

Ken Roth’s every comment on the UAE-Israel peace accord has been negative or condemnatory:

 

 

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]]> Human Rights Watch debating Ken Roth’s "judgment and leadership" over controversial Saudi donation https://unwatch.org/human-rights-watch-debating-ken-roths-judgment-and-leadership-over-controversial-saudi-donation/ Sun, 08 Mar 2020 01:14:55 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528685 Human Rights Watch’s Ken Roth solicited a Saudi billionaire for a $470,000 gift by promising not to use the funds to defend LGBT people in the Middle East — just after his organization had cited the donor’s abuse of workers in a report on “slavery-like conditions.” According to The Intercept, “the controversial donation is at […]

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]]> Human Rights Watch’s Ken Roth solicited a Saudi billionaire for a $470,000 gift by promising not to use the funds to defend LGBT people in the Middle East — just after his organization had cited the donor’s abuse of workers in a report on “slavery-like conditions.”
According to The Intercept, “the controversial donation is at the center of a contentious internal debate” about Roth’s “judgment and leadership.”

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]]> Iran Protests Ignored by Amnesty & Human Rights Watch https://unwatch.org/iran-protests-ignored-by-amnesty-human-rights-watch/ Sun, 12 Jan 2020 10:26:09 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528420 https://www.facebook.com/unwatch/videos/1029698324089714/?__xts__[0]=68.ARA_jCmlz0u-21mUfenKBU5GNoECpDhlZQMh8RGAzUsL-CqpJ3UMuO_24l-amYycRRAf_y3Kt9ol2z9rh2q-Lv-X3QwpbQEDr0aVocNdyhbTem8Fifd7vB1j4PkPvDIGkfr0PG-oHXi_9liubyKO092o1X1hF-mRib-YjNADN1CRcdE0m0xjEDtEpW2YjJocSlL15Nm5lfmczZOGPzM6SLtpvBJj-Yy5DiEVYpqHd_tqi9GR9MmBjtSC5EjP6uj9qmo14n6JGctl3KW5Mw3tX6Kwb9FDeQInc6oP7NSzlxUaACYVidnGjKFM5ynisoEs6DdxFr-djFPVDX38Z9OSkQ6UdvUXgQ&__tn__=-R   Over the past 24 hours, in wake of Iran’s admission that its forces shot down the Ukrainian passenger airliners over Tehran, courageous men and women in cities across Iran have been risking their lives to protest the murderous regime. Facing tear gas attacks, protesters tore down regime posters of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani; […]

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]]> https://www.facebook.com/unwatch/videos/1029698324089714/?__xts__[0]=68.ARA_jCmlz0u-21mUfenKBU5GNoECpDhlZQMh8RGAzUsL-CqpJ3UMuO_24l-amYycRRAf_y3Kt9ol2z9rh2q-Lv-X3QwpbQEDr0aVocNdyhbTem8Fifd7vB1j4PkPvDIGkfr0PG-oHXi_9liubyKO092o1X1hF-mRib-YjNADN1CRcdE0m0xjEDtEpW2YjJocSlL15Nm5lfmczZOGPzM6SLtpvBJj-Yy5DiEVYpqHd_tqi9GR9MmBjtSC5EjP6uj9qmo14n6JGctl3KW5Mw3tX6Kwb9FDeQInc6oP7NSzlxUaACYVidnGjKFM5ynisoEs6DdxFr-djFPVDX38Z9OSkQ6UdvUXgQ&__tn__=-R
 
Iranians students protest in the street at night
Over the past 24 hours, in wake of Iran’s admission that its forces shot down the Ukrainian passenger airliners over Tehran, courageous men and women in cities across Iran have been risking their lives to protest the murderous regime. Facing tear gas attacks, protesters tore down regime posters of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani; others chanted “Soleimani was a murderer, his Leader is also a murderer!”
Yet during this dramatic period, the world’s richest and most powerful international human rights organizations have been turning a blind eye to the Iranian protest movement in what may be its greatest time of need, with 0 tweets for them from Human Rights Watch, as well as 0 tweets from senior officials such as HRW chief Ken Roth, and EU Media Director Andrew Strohlein; and 0 tweets from Amnesty International, its Acting Secretary-General Julie Verhaar, or Amnesty UK director Kate Allen.
Instead, Amnesty is tweeting about America, Human Rights Watch is retweeting itself about America, and Ken Roth is tweeting about America and himself.


 


https://www.facebook.com/hillelneuer/videos/465688800752130/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARBuUPToZuzr0s9YrfNIr4AniN-GrPa3b_8om8e7iSFxmGlRo_kwTGpaCB8iGxvXo3OCW_mObixhRWDUfDrsV7-RyHRw9B8lkZjDaz_i2fvnwl0u3_jGFVrlmMuNr44twFwLjLz27LMKqqS_8RZ7QYINIHsDuXb-6HLUCo_Y1YRuTHwqOFjxzqo8WXraYMbSmoVgr2C_PixjGplM6jzYNt-nrJAKn9mWI1yV3h7NSowYtAK10uowaqgmRyCQzq7QkTu_i-eL2-soc8rkloJFHYiRRbbh2I1sDXBsQynIK4k5JsORjNzzPpVEwwrYHMC6IKK1uBb2By0L5yRCc-AXNPq0l-NLrw&__tn__=-R

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]]> Iranians students protest in the street at night Obsessed: 93% of Ken Roth's "illegal" accusations targeted Israel last month https://unwatch.org/obsessedkenroth/ Sun, 29 Dec 2019 08:27:09 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=528292 Executive Summary A new study shows that over an 18-month period Ken Roth, the head of Human Rights Watch, devoted more than 70% of his tweets alleging “illegal” acts to the criticism of one single country: Israel. By contrast, Roth devoted only 1% of his tweets to accusing Iraq, Libya, Russia, Syria or Yemen of […]

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]]> Executive Summary
A new study shows that over an 18-month period Ken Roth, the head of Human Rights Watch, devoted more than 70% of his tweets alleging “illegal” acts to the criticism of one single country: Israel. By contrast, Roth devoted only 1% of his tweets to accusing Iraq, Libya, Russia, Syria or Yemen of illegal actions, according to an examination of his tweets over an 18-month period from January 1, 2017 to June 2018.
In addition, a study of Roth’s tweets over the past two months shows that, in November and December 2019,  out of 57 tweets where Roth accused a country of “illegal” actions, 50 of them, or 88 percent, targeted Israel. In November, Roth tweeted one similar accusation each on the U.S., Lebanon, Turkey and Brazil.
In November 2019 alone, out of 42 tweets in which Ken Roth accused a country of “illegal” actions, 39 of them — being 93 percent — targeted Israel. Roth tweeted one similar accusation each on Bolivia, Brazil and Indonesia.
In the same 2-month period, despite widespread and systematic acts of oppression by the world’s worst regimes, in violation of international human rights law including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Roth failed to tweet any such accusation against China, Russia, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, Hamas, Myanmar, Pakistan or Venezuela.


Methodology
The study searched the word “illegal” in Ken Roth’s twitter feed, and from within those results, counted every instance in which Roth accused a country of illegal actions.
The word “illegal” is a powerful term. Lawyer Ken Roth appears to be using this term and accusation deliberately and repeatedly concerning one country only. In other contexts, for example in opposing the use of the word “illegal” to describe immigrants, Roth has confirmed that he considers this term significant. (See here, here and here.)
In one instance, Roth actually managed to employ the “illegal” accusation against Israel twice in a single tweet, even as, in the same year, he failed to use the same term concerning gross and systematic violations of international law by the oppressive regimes of Venezuela, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the Palestinian Authority, Myanmar, Pakistan or Qatar — to name but a few.


In a rare moment on January 31, 2017, Roth accused another Middle Eastern country of illegal actions: “Iraq demolishes homes of families of alleged ISIS members—illegal collective punishment.” However, he couldn’t complete this tweet without first referencing his favorite obsession, which appears to have been the primary point of the tweet after all, and so the full text actually reads: “Borrowing page from Israel, Iraq demolishes…”


 
DATA ON KEN ROTH TWEETS
2019 in November-December: Who Ken Roth Accused of “Illegal” Actions
December 2019
Ken Roth Tweets accusing Israel of “illegal” actions:

  1. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1211186657212469248
  2. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1210727846978572288
  3. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1209692654331670528
  4. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1209661634609917952
  5. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1209343728424509441
  6. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1209287912841306113
  7. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1208058496765304832
  8. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1204567492112322561
  9. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1204387803590733824
  10. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1203945339738296322
  11. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1201790382478155776

Ken Roth tweets accusing other countries of “illegal” actions:

  1. USA: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1209245819074949126
  2. Lebanon: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1208389141660090375
  3. Turkey: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1204292192694652928
  4. Brazil: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1204119522694828032

 
November 2019
Ken Roth Tweets accusing Israel of “illegal” actions:

  1. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1200794309269831680
  2. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1200105093422624769
  3. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1199919396648554496
  4. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1199439701435994112
  5. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1199373696038772736
  6. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1199272398123601927
  7. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1199257240450031618
  8. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198948077383667712
  9. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198926811738132480
  10. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198686753806340096
  11. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198517574658646016
  12. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198165491933761542
  13. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1198081890428882944
  14. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197975912677085185
  15. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197938018369318913
  16. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197905903951007744
  17. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197865222163304448
  18. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197858174247804929
  19. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197790630199644160
  20. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1197296771640299520
  21. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196857631077535744
  22. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196714332882649089
  23. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196591050401423360
  24. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196442946230538244
  25. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196212254498263044
  26. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1195700273462812672
  27. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1195280134540079104
  28. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1195231453618958336
  29. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1194995639785943040
  30. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1194747640493281282
  31. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1194623012034748416
  32. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1193482902367068166
  33. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1193303779208302592
  34. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1193200269544194048
  35. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1192868576979492865
  36. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1192766733821587456
  37. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1192543461305724930
  38. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1191743089947353089
  39. https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1191717121962790912

Ken Roth tweets accusing other countries of “illegal” actions:

  1. Bolivia: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1196318814599884801
  2. Indonesia: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1192092188924088320
  3. Brazil: https://twitter.com/KenRoth/status/1191468818872360961

 
In 2017-2018, 74% of Ken Roth’s tweets alleging illegality targeted Israel:
Israel                                                   53         74%
U.S.                                                      5          7%
EU                                                        3           4%
Italy                                                      3           4%
Iraq                                                      1           1%
Libya                                                    1           1%
Thai junta                                             1           1%
South Africa (Jacob Zuma)                  1           1%
Russia (Putin)                                       1           1%
Syria (Assad)                                        1           1%
Yemen (Houthi-Saleh forces)               1           1%
Internet companies                              1           1%
TOTAL                                                 72
 
 2018:  Who Ken Roth Accused of “Illegal” Actions
June 13, 2018             Israel
June 8, 2018               Internet companies
June 7, 2018               Israel
June 6, 2018               Israel
May 29, 2018              Israel
May 24, 2018              Israel
May 24, 2018              Israel
May 23, 2018              Israel
May 23, 2018              U.S. & Israel
May 22, 2018              Israel
May 9, 2018                Israel
May 8, 2018                EU & Italy
April 30, 2018             Israel
April 27, 2018             U.S.
April 25, 2018             Israel
April 3, 2018               Israel
March 15, 2018          U.S.
February 4, 2018        Israel
February 4, 2018        Israel
February 1, 2018        Israel
January 12, 2018        Israel
January 11, 2018        Israel
January 8, 2018          Israel
Breakdown of 2018 accusations:   
Israel                           19
U.S.                              3
EU                                1
Italy                              1
Internet companies      1
TOTAL                         25
 
 
2017:  Who Ken Roth Accused of “Illegal” Actions
December 15, 2017    Israel
December 13, 2017    EU, Libya
December 4, 2017      Israel
December 2, 2017      Israel
November 27, 2017    Israel
November 24, 2017    Italy
November 3, 2017      Israel
October 31, 2017        Israel (“illegal settlements” and “illegally demolishing” in one Tweet)
October 27, 2017        Israel
September 29, 2017   Israel
September 13, 2017   Israel
August 23, 2017          Israel
August 3, 2017            Italy
July 4, 2017                 Jacob Zuma (South Africa)
June 15, 2017              Israel
June 9, 2017                Israel
June 7, 2017                Israel
May 18, 2017              Thai junta
May 11, 2017              Israel
May 9, 2017                Israel
April 25, 2017             Israel
April 20, 2017             Houthi-Saleh forces (Yemen)
April 12, 2017             Putin-Assad (Russia, Syria)
April 1, 2017               Israel
March 23, 2017          Israel
March 20, 2017          Israel
March 8, 2017            Israel
March 7, 2017            Israel
February 23, 2017      Israel
February 18, 2017      EU
February 16, 2017      Israel
February 15, 2017      Israel
February 14, 2017      Israel
February 11, 2017      Israel
February 6, 2017        Israel
February 5, 2017        Israel
February 3, 2017        Israel
February 1, 2017        Israel
January 31, 2017        Iraq, Israel (says Iraq “borrows illegal collective punishment” from Israel)
January 23, 2017        Israel
January 11, 2017        U.S.
January 10, 2017         U.S.
January 10, 2017        Israel
January 8, 2017          Israel
January 6, 2017          Israel
 
Breakdown of 2017 accusations:
Israel                                                   35
U.S.                                                     2
EU                                                       2
Italy                                                     2
Iraq                                                     1
Libya                                                   1
Thai junta                                            1
Jacob Zuma (South Africa)                 1
Putin (Russia)                                      1
Assad (Syria)                                       1
Houthi-Saleh forces (Yemen)              1
TOTAL                                                 47
 

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]]> HRW's Ken Roth should apologize for invoking Holocaust terminology in abortion debate https://unwatch.org/hrws-ken-roth-apologize-invoking-holocaust-terminology-abortion-debate/ Sun, 22 Jan 2017 22:57:51 +0000 https://unwatch.jaredco.com/?p=16503 GENEVA, Jan. 23, 2017 – UN Watch today called on Kenneth Roth, head of the New York-based activist group Human Rights Watch, to apologize for trivializing the Holocaust by making a thinly-veiled comparison to the Nazi genocide to support abortion rights. In a Twitter post supporting reproductive freedom, Roth endorsed a pro-choice protester’s use of the term […]

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]]> GENEVA, Jan. 23, 2017 – UN Watch today called on Kenneth Roth, head of the New York-based activist group Human Rights Watch, to apologize for trivializing the Holocaust by making a thinly-veiled comparison to the Nazi genocide to support abortion rights.
In a Twitter post supporting reproductive freedom, Roth endorsed a pro-choice protester’s use of the term “Never Again,” with a photo of a hanger to symbolize unsafe, self-induced abortions. “It’s important for us all to rally behind this ‘Never Again,’ wrote Roth.
“Never Again” became famous as the post-Holocaust motto by which Jews condemned the Nazi genocide, “a prayer, a promise, a vow,” wrote Elie Wiesel.
“Paradoxically, by making offensive use of Holocaust imagery, Roth now joins pro-life campaigners who compare abortion to the Holocaust, except that Roth’s implied Holocaust comparison is with unsafe and self-induced abortions,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a non-governmental watchdog organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.

“I am disappointed that Roth would stoop to make a case for reproductive rights in America through the cynical abuse of the memory of those killed in the Holocaust,” said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.
“Roth’s thinly veiled invocation of Nazi Germany in the abortion debate is an inappropriate comparison on the merits, diminishes the horror of the Holocaust, and only further coarsens our discourse.”
“With the Holocaust symbolizing absolute evil in the Western world, Roth and others in the political and public arena should resist the temptation to resort to Holocaust comparisons as an instrument for their own ideological purposes, seeking to exaggerate the evil nature of a phenomenon they seek to condemn.”

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]]> Ken Roth misuses Holocaust terminology for abortion Why HRW's Ken Roth won't condemn the kidnapping of Israeli children https://unwatch.org/why-hrws-ken-roth-wont-condemn-the-kidnapping-of-israeli-children/ Sun, 15 Jun 2014 22:25:17 +0000 https://blog.unwatch.org/?p=5645 In contrast to the UN secretary-general and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of Human Rights Watch is refusing to unequivocally condemn Thursday’s kidnapping of Israeli teenagers, emphasizing instead that they attended school in an “illegal settlement,” and demanding that his critics first condemn an unrelated event from a month ago, the alleged IDF killing […]

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]]> In contrast to the UN secretary-general and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of Human Rights Watch is refusing to unequivocally condemn Thursday’s kidnapping of Israeli teenagers, emphasizing instead that they attended school in an “illegal settlement,” and demanding that his critics first condemn an unrelated event from a month ago, the alleged IDF killing of masked rock-throwers.
After repeated appeals from Twitter users for HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth to end his silence on the abductions, Roth finally responded with this carefully-constructed tweet: “Attending school at illegal settlement doesn’t legitimize apparent kidnapping of Israel teens. They should be freed.”


But why would Roth even bother to mention that the youths — two of them aged 16 — studied in an “illegal settlement”?
In all of history, was there ever a case where the head of a human rights group issued a statement concerning innocent hostages — while they were still in the hands of kidnappers — which deliberately connected them to an “illegal” act, let alone devoting half the text to it?
Although Roth appears to insist that this fact “doesn’t legitimize” their kidnapping, the only possible reason he mentioned it was to equivocate his appeal, which amounted to nothing more than “they should be freed.”
HRW’s standard procedure is to call out actions as violations of international law.
Indeed, in other like cases, HRW has issued lengthy press releases and reports condemning the abductions of civilians as a war crime, citing chapter and verse of the Geneva Conventions.
Yet here not only does Roth’s tweet exceptionally fail to invoke the law against the perpetrators of the kidnapping, but he instead invokes the law against the victims — for attending school at an “illegal” settlement.
By contrast, the ICRC — whose Geneva headquarters are up the street from where I write these lines and which, I assure you, is hardly a card-carrying member of the Zionist movement — was unequivocal:

International humanitarian law prohibits abduction as well as the taking of hostages. The ICRC calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-ad Sha’er and Naftali Frenkel. They must be treated humanely, and their lives and dignity protected and respected, as required by international humanitarian law.


These are exactly the kinds of things Roth’s HRW would normally say in other situations — but not, it would seem, when it comes to Israeli victims.
And that the victims are children does not seem to matter in the slightest to Roth, though it did to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General condemns the abduction on 12 June of three Israeli students, including two minors, in the West Bank. He expresses his solidarity with the families of the abducted and calls for their immediate release.

The UN being what it is, Ban’s statement regrettably felt the need to inject a comment about Israeli actions in Gaza, but at least his initial condemnation was firm, detailed and unequivocal, and he went the extra emotional step of expressing solidarity with the victims’ families.
When I pressed Roth on his shameful tweet, he came back with this new tweet: “Kidnapping 3 Israeli boys is wrong. So is killing 2 Palest’n boys posing no imminent threat. Join me to condemn both?”


Roth apparently sees himself as making a concession to his critics — OK, the kidnapping is “wrong” (though not “illegal,” much less a war crime) — and then, parry and thrust, he hits them with a challenge: “Join me to condemn both?”
Yet why must Roth, or anyone else, have to first condemn Israel for an unrelated event that took place a month ago, bad as he alleges it to be, before condemning this weekend’s ongoing crime committed by Palestinian terrorists?
Why the spurious linkage, especially when Roth had already condemned the IDF’s alleged actions numerous times over the past month?
Why compare the abduction of innocent minors to the alleged killing of masked rock-throwers at a violent riot, wrongful as the latter incident might be?


It’s important to bear in mind that Ken Roth is today the most powerful individual in the human rights universe.
As the once-mighty Amnesty International is mired by internal battles, union strife and an ever-revolving leadership, Roth controls an ascendant $228-million empire that recruits top diplomats, UN officials and journalists into its ever-expanding global staff, at the same time as it places its own officials in key positions of influence, including the senior ranks of the U.S. State Department’s human rights division.
Sadly, while the organization accomplishes important work on many areas, the Twitter feed of its enormously influential leader — who was born Jewish — reveals this person’s pathological, daily obsession with portraying the Jewish state as irredeemably irredentist, racist or bloodthirsty, causing him to turn a blind eye, or, worse, explain away, terrorism committed against Israelis.
When your New York human rights organization is more indifferent to the suffering of innocent Jews than international organizations like the UN and the ICRC, it’s time to realize you have a problem.

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]]> HRW's Ken Roth stays silent; a new High Commissioner is named; UN Watch's latest video https://unwatch.org/hrws-ken-roth-stays-silent-a-new-high-commissioner-is-named-un-watchs-latest-video/ Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:00:42 +0000 https://unwatch.jaredco.com/?p=6943 Issue 492 In This Issue Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn the kidnapping of Israeli teens UN Watch takes the floor at the UN Human Rights Council to expose violations of women’s rights by Sudan, Pakistan, Iran  Caracas officials lash out at UN Watch over upcoming Tuesday summit of Venezuelan dissidents A Times of Israel blog […]

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]]> Issue 492
In This Issue

  • Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn the kidnapping of Israeli teens
  • UN Watch takes the floor at the UN Human Rights Council to expose violations of women’s rights by Sudan, Pakistan, Iran 
  • Caracas officials lash out at UN Watch over upcoming Tuesday summit of Venezuelan dissidents

A Times of Israel blog post by Hillel Neuer
Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn the kidnapping of Israeli children
Kenneth Roth from Human Rights Watch
June 16, 2014
GENEVA – Unlike the UN secretary-general and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of Human Rights Watch is refusing to unequivocally condemn Thursday’s kidnapping of Israeli teenagers, emphasizing instead that they attended school in an “illegal settlement,” and demanding that his critics first condemn an unrelated event from a month ago, the alleged IDF killing of masked rock-throwers.
After repeated appeals from Twitter users for HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth to end his silence on the abductions, Roth finally responded with this carefully-constructed tweet: “Attending school at illegal settlement doesn’t legitimize apparent kidnapping of Israel teens. They should be freed.” But…. Click here to read more
______________
UN Watch takes the floor at UNHRC plenary, calls out Sudan, Pakistan, Iran for stoning, jailing, targeting women

pillay_hrc_26
In her final speech, outgoing UN rights chief Navi Pillay (above center) chose to single out Israel for one-sided condemnation, as she “commended Palestine.” While Pillay did criticize several other countries, she failed to say a word about gross and systematic human rights abuses committed by dozens of states, including by UNHRC members such as China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia. Then UN Watch took the floor.

UN Watch testimony before the UN Human Rights Council, 26th Session
June 10, 2014
Thank you, Mr. President. . . We wish to focus thematically on violations of women’s rights—in particular, those perpetrated by three members of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which is charged with protecting the rights of women.

Video: What Happened to the UN?This new UN Watch video tells the story of what happened to the United Nations—and how UN Watch battled over the past 12 months to defend the true principles of human rights at the world body.video_what_happened_to_the_un-1

First, Sudan. Last month, Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a 27-year-old Christian woman, was sentenced to death by hanging, after she declined to profess she is a Muslim, the religion of her father. Sudan charged her with apostasy—and also adultery, for the crime of marrying a Christian.
Mr. President, let the record show that Sudan threw this woman into prison while she was eight months pregnant; that she was forced to give birth in prison; and that she is behind bars together with her 20-month-old son.
If ever there were a prisoner of conscience, it is Ms. Ibrahim. When will this Council take action to protect her?
Second, Pakistan. Two weeks ago, a 23 year-old pregnant woman was brutally murdered for marrying a man against her family’s wishes. A mob of 28—including members of her own family—beat her to death with bricks, in front of the courthouse in Lahore. The police did nothing.
Mr. President, hundreds of women in Pakistan are killed every year in such so-called honor killings. But where is the honor in Pakistani authorities turning a blind eye to these murders?
Finally, Iran. A few weeks ago, journalist Masih Alinejad created a Facebook page where women could post pictures of themselves without their hijab. Now Iran’s state TV has launched a vicious smear campaign against her.
Mr. President, does it make sense that these countries are the UN’s guardians of women’s rights?
Thank you, Mr. President.
______________
Upcoming UN Watch Summit of Venezuelan Dissidents Raises Ire of Caracas
National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello says UN Watch gathering this Tuesday seeks to “discredit” government
cabello_campano
GENEVA, June 15, 2014 –  The head of the Venezuelan parliament was one of several top Caracas officials to lash out at an upcoming UN Watch gathering of Venezuelan dissidents at the United Nations Human Rights Council, where the government’s violent repression of protests is expected to come under intense scrutiny.
The first-ever UN summit of Venezuelan dissidents, which will draw together ambassadors, UN officials, and rights activists, is being organized by the Geneva-based human rights group UN Watch, with the co-sponsorship of Iniciativa por Venezuela, Human Rights Foundation and Directorio. Read More

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]]> Kenneth Roth from Human Rights Watch pillay_hrc_26 video_what_happened_to_the_un-1 cabello_campano Why does Ken Roth keep blaming Egyptian abuses on Israel? https://unwatch.org/why-does-ken-roth-keep-blaming-egyptian-abuses-on-israel/ Tue, 30 Jul 2013 16:41:51 +0000 https://blog.unwatch.org/?p=4152 [View the story “Why does Ken Roth keep blaming Egyptian abuses on Israel?” on Storify]

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