{"id":3322,"date":"2023-05-10T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T18:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3322"},"modified":"2023-05-10T13:00:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T18:00:27","slug":"unpardonable-bias-congresswoman-calls-for-firing-un-official-over-israel-war-crimes-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3322","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unpardonable Bias\u2019: Congresswoman Calls for Firing UN Official Over Israel \u2018War Crimes\u2019 Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-3323\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3323\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46.png 720w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46-585x293.png 585w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46-293x147.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-46-390x195.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) on Friday called for the firing of Francesca Albanese, the UN\u2019s special rapporteur for Palestine, following Albanese\u2019s most recent comments accusing Israel of \u201cwar crimes.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSpecial Rapporteur Albanese\u2019s comments demonstrate yet again her unpardonable bias against the state of Israel and the Jewish people,\u201d Wagner told\u00a0<em>The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cAlbanese should be fired and the utterly unfair, one-sided Commission of Inquiry disbanded. The United Nations must eliminate this deep-seated anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias and commit itself to supporting the peaceful coexistence of Israel and a democratic, terrorism-free Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese on 3 May co-issued a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2023\/05\/israel-un-experts-demand-accountability-death-khader-adnan-and-mass\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a>&nbsp;through the UN\u2019s human rights office in response to the death of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) member Khader Adnan in a hunger strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The press release quotes Albanese fellow UN rapporteur Tlaleng Mofokeng as saying that Israeli administrative detention is \u201ctantamount to a war crime,\u201d and called Adnan\u2019s death \u201ca tragic testament to Israel\u2019s cruel and inhumane detention policy and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe cannot separate Israel\u2019s carceral policies from the colonial nature of its occupation, intended to control and subjugate all Palestinians in the territory Israel wants to control,\u201d Albanese and her fellow expert said. \u201cHow many more lives will have to be lost, before an inch of justice can be delivered in the occupied Palestinian territory?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The press release does not mention Adnan\u2019s membership in PIJ. Adnan was indicted and arrested by an Israeli military court in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese, who was appointed in May 2022, has repeatedly drawn criticism for anti-Israel bias and for comments that critics allege are antisemitic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Albanese has routinely described Israel as an \u201capartheid regime\u201d and in August 2022 asserted that indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza was part of a Palestinian&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2022\/08\/08\/un-official-defends-palestinian-right-to-resist-israeli-occupation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cright to resist.\u201d&nbsp;<\/a>Before assuming office, Albanese had written in 2014 that the United States was \u201csubjugated by the Jewish lobby.\u201d Albanese has distanced herself from those remarks, saying that she would not repeat them and that \u201cpeople make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI am not antisemite [sic],\u201d Albanese said in an April 2022&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/originals\/2022\/04\/israels-occupation-has-crossed-red-line-legality-says-new-un-rapporteur#ixzz7bOEhWVGG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview<\/a>. \u201cI never said Jews are Nazis, and I certainly never implied that I can\u2019t carry out my responsibility objectively and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wagner in February co-led a letter with Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2023\/02\/27\/bipartisan-congressional-letter-calls-for-un-to-disband-commission-of-inquiry-fire-palestine-rapporteur\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called for Albanese\u2019s firing<\/a>&nbsp;for her past comments and for describing Israel as a \u201ccolonial\u201d \u201capartheid regime.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMs. Albanese has repeatedly refused to condemn terrorist attacks against Israelis while continuing her condemnations of Israel,\u201d the letter said. \u201cHer inexcusable silence against terrorism targeting Israelis and her outrageous and prejudicial remarks clearly reflect the irredeemable bias of her mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wagner told&nbsp;<em>The Algemeiner<\/em>&nbsp;on Friday that she further took issue with Albanese\u2019s description of Israel as carrying out a \u201ccolonial\u201d occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIsrael has a fundamental right to exist,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Jewish people are not colonizers\u2014period. To suggest otherwise is both anti-Semitic and flagrantly wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adnan was a senior member and spokesman for PIJ, who was described by the group in a statement following his death as \u201cCommander Khader Adnan,\u201d a \u201cmartyr,\u201d and a \u201cbrave leader.\u201d&nbsp;Adnan was most recently arrested on Feb. 23 and began an 87-day hunger strike that resulted in his death at the age of 45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While PIJ mourned his death as a leader and martyr for the organization, some NGOs played down that aspect of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKhader Adnan, a baker by trade, had nine children with his wife Randa, who tirelessly campaigned for his release,\u201d wrote Amnesty International in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2023\/05\/israel-opt-death-of-khader-adnan-highlights-israels-cruel-treatment-of-palestinian-prisoners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>&nbsp;after his death. \u201cSince 2004 he had been arrested 13 times by Israeli authorities, due to his affiliation with the political wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement. While PIJ\u2019s armed wing has carried out attacks on Israeli civilians, Khader Adnan himself was never charged with any involvement in acts of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adnan had previously been recorded speaking publicly in support of PIJ, which is designated as a terrorist organization without distinction between its \u201cpolitical\u201d and \u201carmed\u201d \u201cwings\u201d by the US, the European Union, and others, calling on attendees at a 2007 rally to give their lives in the struggle against Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho among you is the next suicide bomber?\u201d Adnan asked. \u201cWho among you will carry the next explosive belt? Who among you will fire the next bullets? Who among you will have his own body parts blown all over?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PIJ responded to Adnan\u2019s death by firing rockets from the Gaza strip into Israel.\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2023\/05\/09\/targeted-assassination-kills-3-palestinian-islamic-jihad-leaders-in-gaza\/\" target=\"_blank\">Israeli military operations against PIJ in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip<\/a>\u00a0remain ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Original Article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2023\/05\/09\/unpardonable-bias-congresswoman-calls-for-firing-un-official-over-israel-war-crimes-comments\/\">https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/2023\/05\/09\/unpardonable-bias-congresswoman-calls-for-firing-un-official-over-israel-war-crimes-comments\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) on Friday called for the firing of Francesca Albanese, the UN\u2019s special rapporteur for Palestine, following Albanese\u2019s most recent comments accusing Israel of \u201cwar crimes.\u201d&nbsp; \u201cSpecial Rapporteur Albanese\u2019s comments demonstrate yet again her unpardonable bias against the state of Israel and the Jewish people,\u201d Wagner told\u00a0The Algemeiner. \u201cAlbanese should be fired and the utterly unfair, one-sided Commission of Inquiry disbanded. The United Nations must eliminate this deep-seated anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias and commit itself to supporting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-european-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3322"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3324,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3322\/revisions\/3324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}