UN Human Rights Council Silences Criticism of Official Accused of Antisemitism

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva erupted into controversy on Wednesday as pro-Israel voices were interrupted, silenced, and reprimanded, while speakers criticizing Israel were seemingly given free rein to dish out inflammatory accusations.

Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of U.N. Watch, faced repeated interruptions while attempting to criticize Francesca Albanese, a UN official accused of antisemitism, whose term is up for renewal. Neuer was twice stopped mid-speech and ultimately barred from completing his remarks. The Permanent Observer Representative of the State of Palestine, Ibrahim Khraishi, cut in with a "point of order," claiming Neuer was out of line and even accusing him of being "affiliated with the Mossad." Notably, the session leaders didn’t challenge this wild assertion but instead chastised Neuer for "disrespectful language."

Neuer didn’t mince words afterward, calling the incident "censorship in its rawest form" and branding it "a day of shame for the United Nations." He criticized the council's decision to shut him down while allowing slanderous claims to be aired unchecked. "What is more ‘disrespectful’—reporting the fact that democracies have condemned Francesca Albanese for antisemitism, or allowing a U.N.-accredited delegate to accuse a human rights defender of being a Mossad operative?" Neuer asked pointedly.

Despite citing precedent for raising a complaint against a UN official during the council session, Neuer was interrupted again, this time leading to the session moving on to the next speaker. Neuer later stated, "I was silenced today, but the truth will not be. France, Germany, Canada, the U.S., and the Netherlands have all spoken. They’ve condemned Francesca Albanese’s antisemitism. They’ve called her unfit. It’s time for every democracy to find its voice. Silence is complicity."

Another pro-Israel voice, Anne Bayefsky, Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, also faced backlash for her remarks. After her video presentation, UN officials deemed her language "disrespectful" and outside "acceptable limits." Bayefsky fired back, accusing the UN of failing to define terrorism or hold Hamas accountable, saying, "There is no U.N. accountability. And for that, the new American administration must hold them to account."

Francesca Albanese, appointed Special Rapporteur in 2022, has faced widespread criticism from multiple governments for alleged antisemitic remarks. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that Albanese had attended a Hamas-organized conference in Gaza, where she declared, "you have the right to resist this occupation." Her statements and actions have sparked backlash from countries such as France, Germany, and the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron notably referred to the October 7 attacks as "the largest antisemitic massacre of our century," a characterization Albanese dismissed, claiming the murders were "in response to Israel’s oppression," rather than motivated by antisemitism.

Neuer sent an official letter to Human Rights Council President Jürg Lauber urging Albanese not to be reappointed, accusing her of "widespread, systematic, and grave" violations of the UN Code of Conduct. "Failure to address this issue would gravely undermine the credibility of the UNHRC and signal an unacceptable tolerance for antisemitism within its ranks," the letter warned.

In a rare unified move, France, Germany, and the U.S. condemned Albanese’s remarks. The French Mission to the UN stated, "To deny [the October 7 massacre] is wrong. To seem to justify it, by bringing in the name of the United Nations, is a shame." Germany echoed this sentiment, calling Albanese’s comments "appalling" and "a disgrace." Michèle Taylor, U.S. ambassador to the UNHRC, described Albanese’s statements as inherently antisemitic.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Palestinian Mission to the UN for comment regarding Khraishi’s accusations against Neuer but has yet to receive a response.