UN Palestinian Rights official confronted about past anti-Semitic, anti-Israel social media posts

Italian attorney and U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese had no choice this week but to publicly acknowledge anti-Semitic comments she posted on social media prior to her appointment as a Palestinian human rights official.

Appointed earlier this year by the U.N. Human Rights Council, Albanese was tasked – as an “independent expert” – to investigate human rights in the Palestinian territories. Because of her clear bias and prejudicial slant against Israel as evidenced in her speech and social media posts, the Israeli Permanent Mission to the U.N. in Geneva objected to her being offered the high-profile position. However, she was appointed, nonetheless.

Albanese has been a strong critic of Israel’s right to exist or defend itself from missile attacks. She has claimed that the nation of Israel was established on Palestinian land, ostensibly justifying terrorist activity again the Jewish state. Apart from siding with terrorist organizations, Albanese compared Israelis to Nazis, suggesting that Israel is guilty of war crimes against Palestinians. She made offensive comments about Israeli greed and most notably, during the 2014 conflict between Israel and Gaza terror groups, she claimed that the “Jewish lobby” controlled the United States.

Responding to revelations about Albanese’s statements, Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed that anti-Semitism remains widespread in the U.N.

“Antisemitism is a persistent malice that has infected the United Nations Human Rights Council for far too long,” according to Israel’s Permanent Mission to the U.N. in Geneva. “Comments made by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese that surfaced today are yet another stain on the credibility of this body and yet another example of the impunity that exists today regarding antisemitism and antisemitic comments made by UN officials”… which “only works to legitimize antisemitism and endangers the Jewish people.”

Albanese has made recent attempts to distance herself from her past remarks and social media posts, saying, “Some of the words I used, during Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip in 2014, were infelicitous, analytically inaccurate and unintendedly offensive,” she said through her office. “People make mistakes. I distance myself from these words, which I would not use today, nor have used as a UN Special Rapporteur.”

Despite this, Albanese continues to show disdain for the Jewish state, describing Israel as an oppressor and often legitimizing Palestinian “resistance.”

“Following this clarification, our attention should not be distracted from the unlawful state practices which cause suffering for millions and denial of human rights on a daily basis in the occupied Palestinian territory,” she said. “This is what I am mandated to report on and which should be our focus.”