UN official Francesca Albanese, who has a history of endorsing violence against Israelis, now says Israel has no right to defend itself following a series of deadly terror attacks.
By United with Israel staff
On April 7, Lucy Dee, a Jewish immigrant to Israel from Britain, was driving with her two daughters, Rina and Maya, through Israel’s Jordan Valley, when all three were brutally shot and murdered by an Arab terrorist.
On the same day, Italian tourist Allesandro Parini was murdered in a car-ramming attack carried out by an Arab terrorist in Tel Aviv.
In response, Francesca Albanese, the “UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” insinuated that Israel has no right to defend itself against terror attacks carried out by “people it oppresses” and “whose lands it colonizes.”
“The loss of life in the ‘occupied Palestinian territories’ and Israel is devastating, especially at a time that should be of peace for all, Christians, Jews, Muslims,” she tweeted the following day, adding, “Israel has a right to defend itself, but can’t claim it when it comes to the people it oppresses/whose lands it colonizes.”
Albanese is no stranger to anti-Israel, antisemitic and violence-inciting comments. In the past, she has equated the so-called “Nakba” with the Holocaust, accused Israel of being an “apartheid” state, said that “an occupation requires violence,” and told a crowd – including Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists – they “have a right to resist [Israeli] occupation.”
“These statements are just the latest in Albanese’s relentless, systematic and blind bias towards Israel, which includes using age-old antisemitic tropes such as accusing ‘the Jewish lobby’ of controlling the United States and Europe, repeatedly dismissing Israeli security concerns, as well as comparing Israelis to Nazis and supporting the racist BDS Movement,” says the International Legal Forum (ILF).
The ILF, which calls itself “a nonprofit, proactive legal hub, centralizing efforts of lawyers, organization and activists worldwide, in their fight to promote justice, peace and equality in Israel and the Middle East,” has now launched a petition calling on the UN Secretary-General to fire Albanese.
“Albanese’s actions represent a direct and flagrant ongoing violation of the UN Code of Conduct for Special Rapporteurs, which requires rapporteurs to act with ‘impartiality and objectivity’ at all times. Enough is enough! How much longer can the UN tolerate this?” the petition states.
Most recently, Italian Senator Giulio Terzi joined the call for Albanese’s termination, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Send a clear message that antisemitism and endorsement of violence against Israelis will not be tolerated in the halls of the UN! Demand this antisemite be fired!
To sign the ILF petition, click here.
To write to the UN Secretary-General, click here.