‘An absolute mockery’: News organization awards U.N. Persons of the Year to Israel’s fiercest anti-Semitic critics

JERUSALEM – At its end of year awards, the PassBlue news organization acknowledged the efforts of three United Nations employees, whom it assesses have had the most impact over the last 12 months. The three chosen, Francesca Albanese, Philippe Lazzarini, and Antonio Guterres also happen to be the most strident critics of Israel.

PassBlue, which on its website describes itself as “an independent, women-led nonprofit multimedia news company that closely covers the U.S.-U.N. relationship, women’s issues, human rights, peacekeeping and other urgent global matters playing out in the world body,” says its mission is to hold the powerful people and the 193-member countries of the United Nations to account. It also happens to receive funding from the deep pockets of George and Alex Soros via the Open Society Foundations.

In its description of why the awards were granted to these three individuals – not forgetting their acknowledgement of Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the U.N. as the Diplomat of the Year – PassBlue wrote, “The tragedy of Gaza has had an overwhelming impact on the U.N. this year, including 258 staffers killed in the war.”

It seems to have escaped their notice that a number of these so-called “U.N. staffers” were also Hamas terrorists who abuse their dual identity as working for an international aid NGO to actually carry out atrocities. Somehow, they didn’t mention that.

Deleted this post after being informed that PassBlue is not affiliated with the UN. My bad, everyone

But hey, at least we can all agree that Francesca Albanese is still a witch. pic.twitter.com/0l2XDZX7as

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) December 24, 2024

PassBlue said of Albanese, whom the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories in 2022, that “her reports and speeches have consistently highlighted grave human rights violations perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians, detailing widespread abuses such as forced displacement, unlawful killings and the denial of basic rights.”

That isn’t all she’s said, however. And some of her statements have crossed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel into the murky area of outright anti-Semitism – and not connected to the remit of her role at all.

Indeed, the Anti Defamation League has an entire page devoted to Albanese “in her own words,” showing she has a flagrant disregard for the code of conduct, in which a special rapporteur is expected to show “moderation.”

A selection of her missives include claims about Israel’s actions being comparable or akin to the Nazi persecution of Jews during the Holocaust; calling Gaza a 21st century “concentration camp;” Israel committing genocide; comparing Israel to the Taliban; denying or minimizing the rapes and sexual assaults which took place on Oct. 7, 2023; and accusing the “Israel lobby” of controlling Congress, including both political parties.

Considering this news organization sees part of its remit is to hold people of power to account, it seems a bit bizarre it failed to mention the chiding even the Biden administration managed, to admonish Albanese’s outrageous conduct. Prior to the special rapporteur’s arrival in New York as part of a North American speaking tour, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield chided Albanese saying she was “unfit for her role.”

As UN Special Rapporteur Albanese visits New York, I want to reiterate the U.S. belief she is unfit for her role. The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights.

— Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) October 29, 2024

Having stumped for Albanese as “Person of the Year,” it seems as obvious as night following day to select Lazzrini and Guterres as first and second runners-up in the category.

Lazzarini, who is Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, has had a difficult 12 months to say the least. The organization for which he is the head has been accused – with verifiable proof to back up the claim – of employing people who took part in the Oct. 7 massacres. Even he does not deny this obvious fact; yet he, and the second runner-up, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claim it is an indispensable part of the so-called humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The situation regarding UNRWA has become so severe that Israel’s parliament – the Knesset – passed a law in late October making the organization’s activities “illegal on Israel’s sovereign territory.” This includes a potential ejection from its Jerusalem HQ. In addition, several countries, most recently Sweden, have decided to withdraw funding from the U.N. body, with the usually taciturn Swedes citing a “crisis of confidence.”

Guterres too has meted out harsh criticism toward Israel since it began its ground invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 blood-letting. He along with the other two has sought to minimize Hamas’ actions – victim-blaming the Jews for being attacked, but hitting a note of understanding for the plight of the Palestinians.

He infamously remarked, “Oct. 7 didn’t occur in a vacuum.” When you have Ha’aretz, Israel’s most avowedly-left-wing major newspaper calling for your resignation, it is as good a sign as any, however much he might have tried to contextualize his comments, that Guterres overstepped the mark.

The “award” is not really a surprise, it is yet more evidence of the direction of travel of the international development community and the NGOs – implacably opposed to Israel – which dominate the discourse.

Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum and a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, said the award “makes an absolute mockery of everything PassBlue is meant to stand for.”

“The organization claims to be a ‘women-led non-profit’ that covers the U.N., women’s issues and human rights,” he added.

“To honor this group of U.N. individuals who have peddled in relentless Jew-hatred, rape denial and justification of Hamas crimes, is obscene, unconscionable and just inexcusable.

“They may as well have given the award posthumously to Yahya Sinwar,” Ostrovsky concluded.