Over 100 figures from the world of leisure signed an open letter Saturday in assist of UN Palestinian Palestinian territories rapporteur Francesca Albanese who faces mounting calls to resign over feedback about Israel and the warfare in Gaza.
France, Italy and Germany, together with a number of different European nations, have called for Albanese — who has been repeatedly accused of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric towards Israel — to step down over remarks final weekend cited a “frequent enemy” that enabled Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza — a cost Israel has strongly rejected.
Professional-Israel activists accused Albanese of referring to Israel because the “frequent enemy,” which she denied.
In a letter organized by the Artists for Palestine group and shared with AFP, over a 100 cultural figures backed her, together with actors Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem, Nobel-winning writer Annie Ernaux and British musician Annie Lennox.
The signatories “supply our full assist to Francesca Albanese, a defender of human rights and due to this fact additionally of the Palestinian folks’s proper to exist,” the letter says.
“There are infinitely extra of us, in each nook of the Earth, who need drive now not to be the regulation. Who know what the phrase ‘regulation’ actually means,” it concludes.
Revealed in French on the Artists for Palestine web site, it additionally reproduces the complete remarks by Albanese, who was talking by way of videoconference at a discussion board final Saturday organized by the Al Jazeera TV community.
Different celebrities to supply assist for her embrace actresses Rosa Salazar and Asia Argento, Oscar-nominated movie administrators Yorgos Lanthimos and Kaouther Ben Hania, Latin music star Residente, and photographer Nan Goldin.
A gaggle of French MPs despatched a letter to French International Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday denouncing Albanese’s remarks as “antisemitic.”
Barrot known as for her to step down a day later, saying that France “unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks.”
German International Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday mentioned her place was “untenable.” Austria and Italy, Albanese’s house nation, additionally mentioned her feedback confirmed she was unsuitable for her put up.
Albanese is likely one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s more-than-two-year warfare in opposition to Hamas within the Gaza Strip that was launched following the October, 7, 2023, Hamas bloodbath.
She has known as it “the disgrace of our time” and says she at all times asks prime ministers, presidents and overseas ministers the identical query: “How do you sleep? When will you act?”
Albanese has an extended historical past of constructing statements accused of being antisemitic, anti-Israel and pro-Hamas.
On October 11, 2023, 4 days after the assault, Albanese mentioned she doubted experiences of rape and sexual violence. As an alternative, she mentioned the US and Israel had been spreading these claims to escalate tensions. She mentioned Israel had no proper to self-defense instantly after the Hamas invasion of Israel; mentioned Israelis must be “thought of suspect” and investigated when they’re overseas; mentioned different nations ought to halt pharmaceutical exports to Israel; characterised Israel as a “genocidal society”; and positioned the Jewish state as an obstacle to international justice.
She instructed a Harvard College gathering that when Hamas refers to killing Jews (Yahudi), they don’t really imply Jews.
She has known as accusations that UNRWA workers participated within the October 7 bloodbath “fallacious allegations,” although there was clear proof supporting it.
Final November, she posted a cartoon denouncing Israel, depicting what gave the impression to be a world spiderweb, its strands draped with money and weapons, in a picture that consultants mentioned echoed age-old antisemitic tropes.
The Italian-born authorized professional, who started her unpaid position in 2022, was focused with sanctions by the Trump administration in July final 12 months over what it known as her “unabashed antisemitism” and “biased and malicious” work.
UN particular rapporteurs like Albanese are unbiased consultants who’re appointed by the UN rights council, however don’t communicate on behalf of the United Nations.
UN Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres distanced himself from Albanese on Thursday when his spokesman mentioned, “We don’t agree with a lot of what she says.”
“We wouldn’t use the language that she’s utilizing in describing the state of affairs,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric added.
