US Sanctions the "klavta" Albanese

The U.S. State Department announced that it is sanctioning Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on Palestinian territories, under an executive order that states those who engage “directly” with an effort by the International Criminal Court to arrest or probe a “protected person” without the consent of the person’s country are subject to having their property and assets blocked.

“The United States has repeatedly condemned and objected to the biased and malicious activities of Albanese that have long made her unfit for service as a special rapporteur,” Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said on Wednesday. “Albanese has spewed unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism and open contempt for the United States, Israel and the West.”

Albanese’s “bias has been apparent across the span of her career, including recommending that the ICC, without a legitimate basis, issue arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,” he said. (The court, which is based in The Hague, is not part of the United Nations.)

“Albanese has directly engaged with the International Criminal Court in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries,” continued Rubio. “Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute, making this action a gross infringement on the sovereignty of both countries.”

Albanese recently “escalated” her efforts by penning “threatening letters to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American companies across finance, technology, defense, energy and hospitality, making extreme and unfounded accusations and recommending the ICC pursue investigations and prosecutions of these companies and their executives,” he explained.

Albanese authored a report, released last week, accusing U.S.-based companies and organizations of being complicit in Israel’s so-called “genocide” in Gaza. One of them, Google, has countered that and pointed fingers at the United Nations of anti-Israel bias and more.

Sergey Brin, son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, cites a U.N. report accusing his company of profiting off “genocide” in Gaza, calling the global body “transparently antisemitic.”

JNS broke the news in June that Albanese threatened Israel Bonds while seeking comment and information from it in preparation for her report.

‘Crossed the line into political warfare’

Dorothy Shea, the interim U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, sent a letter last week to António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, calling for Albanese’s removal and for Guterres to condemn her rhetoric and actions.

Guterres’s office has long insisted that he lacks purview over Albanese, who is appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council. A spokesman for Guterres told JNS that his office had no immediate comment.

“This is a bold and courageous move by Secretary Rubio. No U.N. official—in this case, a purported official, as her reappointment was illegal—has ever been sanctioned before in history,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the non-governmental organization UN Watch. “Then again, no U.N. official has ever been condemned for Holocaust distortion and antisemitism by France, Germany, Canada, and both Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations.”

He stated that “Francesca Albanese is an openly antisemitic supporter of terrorism. She has accused the ‘Jewish lobby’ of controlling America. She blamed the CIA and Mossad for the ISIS terrorist attack against Charlie Hebdo journalists in 2015. On Oct. 7, 2023, she justified the Hamas attacks, tweeting ‘today’s violence must be put in context.’”

Now, said Neuer, “she will never again spread her poison on American campuses or enter the country. Justice is served. Good triumphs over evil.”

Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, stated that the U.S. decision sent “a clear message” and that it was “time for the U.N. to pay attention.”

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, said Albanese’s “relentless and biased campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line from human-rights advocacy into political warfare.”

“Albanese has consistently debased the credibility of the United Nations by promoting false, dangerous narratives that are detached from reality,” he stated. “Israel stands firmly with the United States in rejecting these one-sided attacks. We will not remain silent while those tasked with impartiality weaponize their platforms.”

Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. federal task force on combating Jew-hatred, who called for Albanese’s removal in May in a blunt letter, told JNS that he applauds the decision.

“I called for her removal due to her long and troubling record of antisemitic rhetoric,” he told JNS. “This long-overdue step sends a clear message. Such hatred will not be tolerated.”