Thirty Jewish organisations have issued a powerful joint statement defending Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, denouncing what they describe as coordinated attempts to undermine her mandate through false accusations of anti-Semitism.

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese gestures while delivering opening remarks at a Public hearing in Portuguese Parliament regarding Palestinian Territories situation, followed by speeches by MPs from the PS, Bloco de Esquerda, PCP, Livre and PAN, on October 03, 2024, in Lisbon, Portugal. [Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images]

Jewish groups rally behind UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine amid anti-Semitism accusations

November 8, 2024

Thirty Jewish organisations have issued a powerful joint statement defending Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, denouncing what they describe as coordinated attempts to undermine her mandate through false accusations of anti-Semitism.

The unprecedented show of support comes as Albanese faces what the organisations describe as “relentless attack from politically motivated organisations” in what appears to be a systematic campaign to discredit her work documenting human rights conditions in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The groups specifically singled out organisations such as UN Watch, which they say “have been waging toxic smear campaigns to silence her and to harm her human rights mandate”. According to the statement, these organisations’ primary objective is “shielding the Israeli government from international criticism and legal accountability”.

Of particular concern to the Jewish organisations is the weaponisation of anti-Semitism allegations against the UN Rapporteur, especially by Western governments. “We reject such allegations, which are unfounded and recklessly incite against Ms. Albanese, at the risk of endangering her personal safety,” the statement declared, highlighting the potential dangerous consequences of such accusations.

The groups expressed alarm at what they view as a broader and deeply troubling pattern of instrumentalising anti-Semitism for political purposes, particularly through the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. They strongly condemned “the escalating instrumentalisation of anti-Semitism in this regard, specifically through the highly controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which is also being weaponized against Ms. Albanese and the United Nations more broadly”.

The organisations, identifying themselves as “Jews committed to justice, equality and universal human rights”, reserved particularly strong criticism for Western governments’ positions, especially those of the US and Germany. The statement “strongly condemned the shameful diplomatic and military support that many Western governments, in particular the United States and Germany, have offered to Israel’s ongoing campaign of mass killings of Palestinian civilians and its barbaric destruction of all foundations of Palestinian life in Gaza”.

In a pointed critique of the current situation, the groups argued that the conflation of Israel’s actions with Jewish identity poses a genuine threat to Jewish communities worldwide.... READ MORE   https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241108-jewish-groups-rally-behind-un-special-rapporteur-on-palestine-amid-anti-semitism-accusations/

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]