United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese called Israel the ‘common enemy of humanity’ at an Al Jazeera conference held between 7–9 February. The UN expert also repeated well-known antisemitic tropes, referring to an alleged ‘planned genocide’ by Israel and to a global system of ‘money, algorithms, and weapons’ controlled by Jews.
‘It’s also true that never before has the global community faced the challenges we are experiencing today—we who do not control large amounts of financial capital, algorithms, and weapons,’ the Italian UN official said.
Albanese also praised Al Jazeera, the conference organizer, as a model of truth-telling and objective journalism. This is the Qatar-funded network that has been banned by, among others, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and even the Palestinian Authority over its extremist Islamist stance, support for terrorism, and dissemination of disinformation.
Meanwhile, Albanese made no mention of the 7 October massacre committed by Hamas, the rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, the fate of the Israeli hostages, or the fact that Gaza’s terrorist infrastructure routinely operates from behind civilian facilities. Equally striking was her silence regarding the brutally suppressed protests in Iran, where the number of victims may have reached as many as 30,000. That omission is perhaps less surprising considering who shared the stage with her.
At the conference, Albanese appeared alongside Khaled Mashaal, one of the leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, as well as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Araghchi expressed concern about the ‘deliberate, mass destruction of civilians’—though, of course, not in Iran, but in Gaza.
It is particularly noteworthy that Albanese serves as a rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council. She is presented as an ‘independent’ expert who, although not a UN employee and unpaid by the organization, submits reports that the UN relies upon when preparing assessments, including on Gaza and Israel. It is evident, however, that Albanese uses her UN mandate not as an independent legal expert, but as an ideologically committed political activist.
Similar criticism was voiced by Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon in a post on X, where he called Albanese’s participation a ‘profound failure’ of the system.
‘Francesca Albanese exploits her position at the UN to echo terrorist propaganda and antisemitism,’ Danon wrote. ‘And if what she has done so far was not enough, she is expected to speak at the Al Jazeera forum alongside the chief murderer who heads the Hamas terrorist organization, Khaled Mashaal.’
This was not Albanese’s first controversial statement. Last May, for example, she claimed that the United States is ‘controlled by the Jewish lobby,’ and alleged that Zionists fabricate antisemitic incidents in the United States.
In response to her repeated inflammatory remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in July that the State Department would impose sanctions on Albanese. The US Treasury Department also designated her as a Specially Designated National, prohibiting all US citizens and companies from engaging in business with her.
Last month, President Trump established the Board of Peace, an international forum that envisions not only addressing peace in Gaza but also pursuing broader peacebuilding efforts around the world. The creation of the Board of Peace was met with suspicion by several nations, including France, the United Kingdom, and Spain, which fear that Trump’s initiative may seek to rival the United Nations and strip authority from the longstanding organization. Such concerns are not unfounded, as the US president has repeatedly criticized the UN for its inefficiency and bias, including against Israel. Albanese’s recent remarks now provide yet another striking example of that alleged bias.
Related articles:
