UN Envoy To UN Accuses Francesca Albanese Of Being "Anti-Semitic" (image@AR_Renaissance)Michele Taylor accused Francesca Albanese of having a “history of using anti-Semitic tropes”. Taylor, who is the permanent representative of US to the United Nations Human Rights Council said that the UN special rapporteur on Palestine’s statements are “unacceptable and anti-Semitic”.
Taylor said, “her (Francesca Albanese) most recent statements justifying, dismissing, & denying the anti-Semitic undertones of Hamas’ October 7 attack are unacceptable & anti-Semitic. We expect more of independent UN experts and condemn all forms of antisemitism”.
Francesca Albanese has a history of using antisemitic tropes. Her most recent statements justifying, dismissing, & denying the antisemitic undertones of Hamas’ October 7 attack are unacceptable & antisemitic. We expect more of independent UN experts and condemn all forms of… https://t.co/0bXPgrINzy pic.twitter.com/fVt9FFt2Ap
— Ambassador Michèle Taylor (@USAmbHRC) February 12, 2024
Albanese has been a vocal critic of the Israeli oppression in Gaza. Earlier this week, she was banned from entering into Israel for saying that the October 7th attacks were a “response to Israel’s oppression”.
Responding to the news, she said that Israel denying her entry “is not news”, and added that Israel has banned the entry of all the Special Rapporteurs of Palestine since 2008. She said, it must not be a distracting factor from the atrocities of Israeli in Gaza, “which are taking a new level of horror with the bombing of people in ‘safe areas’” in Rafah.
BREAKING: Israel’s “denying me entry” is not news: Israel has denied entry to ALL Special Rapporteurs/oPt since 2008!
This must not become a distraction from Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, which are taking a new level of horror with the bombing of people in ‘safe areas’ in #Rafah.— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) February 12, 2024
Earlier, as a response to French President Emmanual Macron paying tribute to the “tortured of October 7”, which was denoted as the “largest anti-Semitic massacre of our century”, Albanese said the victims of the October 7th were not killed “because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression”. She said, France and the International community did nothing to prevent it.
She was criticised for her tweet and said that she was supporting Hamas. the UN Special Rapporteur said that she was disappointed that some read her “tweet as “justifying” the Hamas crimes of 10/7, which I have strongly condemned several times. I reject all racism, including anti-Semitism, a global threat. But explaining these crimes as anti-Semitism obscures their true cause”.
Déçue que certains aient lu mon tweet comme “justifiant” les crimes du Hamas du 7/10, que j’ai fermement condamnés plusieurs fois. Je rejette tout racisme, incluant l’antisémitisme, une menace globale. Mais expliquer ces crimes comme de l’antisémitisme obscurcit leur vraie cause. https://t.co/HCECVV63wr
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) February 11, 2024
Francesca Albanese is an Italian international lawyer and academic. It was on May 2022, she was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories on a three-year term. She is regarded as a strong opponent of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and also recommended the UN member states to develop “a plan to end the Israeli settler-colonial occupation and apartheid regime”, on her very first report after joining the position.