UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese addresses the UN, October 2022. (Photo: Screenshot)
The World Jewish Congress (WJC), an international federation of Jewish communities, condemned United Nations official Francesca Albanese on Tuesday for comparing Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza to that of Nazi Germany.
“The constant statements made by [Albanese] comparing Israel to Nazi Germany are not only deeply offensive, but a gross distortion of history,” the WJC wrote on its 𝕏 account. The condemnation came after Albanese, once again, claimed that the Israeli government is perpetrating genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“Our collective obliviousness to what led, 100 years ago, to the Third Reich’s expansionism and the genocide of people not in conformity with the “pure race” is asinine. And it is leading to the commission of yet another genocide, yet another regional war and potentially yet another global one,” Albanese claimed.
The Italian-born lawyer Albanese, who currently serves as the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories (West Bank) has displayed a deep hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people.
In February, she denied that the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion and massacre in southern Israel was linked to antisemitism. Instead, she addressed French President Emmanuel Macron, claiming that the Hamas terrorist organization was taking action in response to “Israel’s oppression.”
“The ‘greatest antisemitic massacre of our century’? No, Mr. @EmmanuelMacron. The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism but in response to Israel’s oppression. France & the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims,” Albanese stated.
Albanese failed to condemn Hamas for its antisemitic charter that openly calls for the destruction of Israel and the death of Jews worldwide.
A bipartisan group of 18 U.S. Congress members responded by demanding that the UN remove Albanese from her position due to her strong bias against the Jewish state and the whitewashing of anti-Israel terrorism.
“For an official tasked with serving as an independent, neutral and expert voice on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, her inexcusable silence against terrorism targeting Israel, and her outrageous and prejudicial mandate,” the U.S. lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“We strongly urge you to call for severing all ties with Ms. Albanese, help disband the Commission of Inquiry into Israel and recommit to a United Nations system free from antisemitic and anti-Israel bias,” the lawmakers added.
In July, Albanese faced a new backlash after supporting an antisemitic post of 𝕏 that compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler.
At the time, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield strongly condemned the UN official’s antisemitic conduct and underscored that Albanese was “not fit” for a UN position.
“There is no place for antisemitism from UN-affiliated officials tasked with promoting human rights. While the United States has never supported Francesca Albanese’s mandate, it is clear she is not fit for this or any position at the UN,” Thomas-Greenfield stated.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, also blasted Albanese’s conduct and called for her immediate removal.
“UN official Francesca Albanese compares Israel’s PM to Hitler. She believes ‘the Jewish lobby’ controls America, BBC has ‘the Israeli lobby inside your veins’ & Hamas has a ‘right to resist.’ We call on all democracies to demand her immediate removal,” Neuer wrote.
UN Watch is an NGO that focuses on monitoring antisemitism and bigotry within the United Nations and its agencies.
