A letter to UN Secretary General, reads: ‘’Following the terrorist murder of an Italian tourist, Allesandro Parini (35), and British-Israeli sisters Rena (20) and Maya (15) Dee, Ms. Albanese explicitly and inexcusably, said that Israel does not have a right to self-defense against Palestinian terror, thereby directly endorsing the murder of Israeli civilians, including children. She has only further reiterated this position since. In it is unfathomable that such a statement would ever be made by a UN representative, but this is just the latest in Ms. Albanese’s relentless, systematic and unhinged bias against Israel.’’

”The UN would be far better served by replacing it with a Special Rapporteur for Combating Antisemitism instead”

 

The International Legal Forum and and an Italian lawyer have sent a letter to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres and UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk Volker calling for the immediate dismissal of Francesca Albanese, the ‘’UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories’’, following her comments claiming that Israel does not have a right to self-defense  in the wake of the terror attacks against civilians last Friday.

‘’These comments follow her long history of relentless antisemitism and anti-Israel bias,’’ they wrote. In the letter, calling to abolish Albanese’s entire mandate altogether, and suggesting the UN would be far better served by replacing it with a Special Rapporteur for Combating Antisemitism instead.

The lette, signed by Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum and Italian lawyer Barbara Pontecorvo, Director of the Solomon-Observatory on Discrimination,  reads : ‘’Following the terrorist murder of an Italian tourist, Allesandro Parini (35), and British-Israeli sisters Rena (20) and Maya (15) Dee, Ms. Albanese explicitly and inexcusably, said that Israel does not have a right to self-defense against Palestinian terror, thereby directly endorsing the murder of Israeli civilians, including children. She has only further reiterated this position since. In it is unfathomable that such a statement would ever be made by a UN representative, but this is just the latest in Ms. Albanese’s relentless, systematic and unhinged bias against Israel.’’

Albanese has in the past used age-old antisemitic tropes such as accusing “the Jewish lobby” of controlling the United States, repeatedly dismissing Israeli security concerns as well as comparing Israelis to Nazis, expressing support for the BDS Movement and charging the Jewish state with the heinous crimes of apartheid, genocide and war crimes.

She even addressed a Hamas terror group conference in Gaza, instructing them “you have the right to resist.”

The letter to UN Secretary General reads further: ‘’As you will be aware, pursuant to the UN Code of Conduct for Special Rapporteurs, the Rapporteurs work shall be guided by the notions of “impartiality and objectivity”. When it comes to Ms. Albanese, there is not even the pretext of these values, with Ms. Albanese displaying persistent, ongoing and blind bias and hostility.’’

It adds: ‘’ We therefore call on you to ensure that the UN lives up to its own rules and standards, and to send a clear message that antisemitism and endorsement of violence will not be tolerated at the United Nations, by dismissing Ms. Albanese and abolishing her position entirely. The UN would be far better served by replacing Ms. Albanese’s mandate with a Special Rapporteur for Combating Antisemitism.’’

Earlier this year, a  bi-partisan group of Members of the U.S. Congress also wrote demanding Albanese’s dismissal.

The International Legal Forum is a global network of over 4,000 lawyers and activists, committed to combating antisemitism, advancing human rights and promoting peace in the Middle East.

The Solomon-Observatory on Discrimination is an Italian-based NGO combating antisemitism.