Israel calling Francesca Albanese a witch!?

[Everexpanding]

I understand anti semite was losing its power to silence but now Israel is calling Francesca Albanese a witch??? At a meeting of the UN?
Has the Israeli government lost it’s mind

It was a thing he shouldn’t have said but it’s still what one person said not “Israel”.

‘One person’ who in this case is
the UN Ambassador for Israel.

A permanent representative to the United Nations(sometimes called a "UN ambassador") ^is the head of a country's diplomatic mission to the United
Nations.^

Of these, the most high-profile UN permanent representatives are those assigned to headquarters in New York City.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_representative_to_the_United_Nations

This UN ambassador to the UN for Israel is assigned to New York City.

The permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations is the de facto Israel ambassador to the United Nations with the rank and status of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

The permanent mission of Israel to the United Nations is led by Ambassador Danny Damon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Representative_of_Israel_to_the_United_Nations

@Twiglets1 If he does not represent Israel he should resign or be sacked.

Still one person @ScrollingLeaves so it was incorrect for @Everexpanding to refer to them as “Israel” in their OP.

I’m sure some Palestinian/Gaza leaders have said shocking things too but I wouldn’t say “Gaza says” about an inflammatory comment because that wouldn’t be fair.

@Twiglets1 He is not just any ‘one person’. He represents his country officially.

This ambassador needs to resign if he is representing his country badly.

I see your point @Twiglets1
But he is representing Israel at the UN. I agree it was misogynistic and unprofessional- but it also mirrors the vitriol that many pro-Israelis have expressed about her.

As for not confusing what leaders say / do with the views of the citizens they represent - shame this is not a given for Palestinians.

How frequently have we heard that there’s no innocents in Gaza- due to Hamas?

Didn’t the President of Israel even say that?

Unfortunately- there are times when words have grave consequences.

I'm glad you can see my point.

Ridiculous that some people would argue otherwise and that one person's words can literally be said to represent "Israel".

Whatever this person's role he is still just one person. The OP could have made the same point (that his words were unacceptable and especially given his professional role) with accuracy by saying The UN Ambassador for Israel called Francesca Albanese a witch.

Let’s hope he is then admonished by Israel for his behaviour.

I can’t see anything yet….

She’s not ‘doing her job’ as her role is supposed to be as an impartial observer and she should have been removed from her post as she has demonstrated the opposite,

Special procedures are either an individual (called "Special Rapporteur" or "Independent Expert") or a working group composed of five members, one from each of the five United Nations regional groupings: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and the Western group. The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and members of the Working Groups are appointed by the Human Rights Council and serve in their personal capacities.

They undertake to uphold independence, efficiency, competence and integrity through probity, impartiality, honesty and good faith. They are not United Nations staff members and do not receive financial remuneration. The independent status of the mandate-holders is crucial for them to be able to fulfil their functions in all impartiality. A mandate-holder's tenure in a given function, whether it is a thematic or country mandate, is limited to a maximum of six years.

According to resolution 5/1, the following general criteria will be of paramount importance while nominating, selecting and appointing mandate-holders: (a) expertise; (b) experience in the field of the mandate; (c) independence; (d) impartiality; (e) personal integrity; and (f) objectivity.

There have been allegations of financial misconduct regarding funding by pro-Hamas groups.

unwatch.org/report-un-orchestrated-cover-up-of-francesca-albaneses-financial-misconduct/

She has falsely implied her mandate was renewed when it wasn’t.

unwatch.org/un-human-rights-office-says-albanese-was-not-renewed/

There have been numerous calls for her removal from the U.S., Germany, France, and various Jewish advocacy groups due to allegations of antisemitism and bias, but these efforts have not resulted in her dismissal by the UN. The UN Secretariat has stated it does not have the authority to remove rapporteurs who operate under the Human Rights Council, whose removal would require a formal resolution by member states.

In July 2025, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese due to her activities, which it described as a "campaign of political and economic warfare" targeting U.S. and Israeli entities. Despite the sanctions and ongoing controversy, she remains in her position and continues to present reports in her capacity as Special Rapporteur.

She is being sued for defamation by two Christian charitable organisations:

The plaintiffs allege Albanese’s statements caused severe reputational and financial harm, including death threats against staff, vandalism of European offices, and political pressure to revoke their charitable status.

https://www.jns.org/lawyer-posts-proof-south-africa-approved-serving-defamation-suit-to-un-adviser-despite-its-claims/

She seems to not believe rape occurred on Oct 7th:

https://unwatch.org/rape-denier-francesca-albanese/

She has a long history of anti Israel rhetoric including saying that the violence on Oct 7th ‘must be put in context’.

www.adl.org/resources/article/francesca-albanese-her-own-words

Her X posts on the Flotillas over the summer could also be perceived as trying to whip up a frenzy against Israel:

https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1931858178737598607

https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1970627636474052878

https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1970823561704030717

The more she succeeds in highlighting the plight of Palestinians- the more the anger expressed against her.

Anyone who does her job properly would
have faced similar challenges. Her job is basically to investigate human right abuse of Palestinians by Israel:

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur derives from the 1993 resolution from the Committee of Human Rights. The mandate calls on the Special Rapporteur:

1. To investigate Israel's violations of the principles and bases of international law, international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967;
2. To receive communications, to hear witnesses, and to use such modalities of procedure as he may deem necessary for his mandate; and
3. To report, with his conclusions and recommendations, to the Commission on Human Rights at its future sessions, until the end of the Israeli occupation of those territories.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-palestine

Same for all the NGOs attempting to work in the area- when they highlight concerns about Palestinians, they are criticised.

Don’t you feel that some of the criticisms made about her are valid? Such as denying that rape occurred on 7/10?

She accepted UN reports had found evidence of rape on 7/10.

What do you think of her concerns about rape of Palestinians in Israeli prisons?

She raises really important concerns about maltreatment of Palestinians by Israel. By focusing criticisms on her, those wanting to prevent criticism of Israel attempt to divert attention away from her actual message.

But her initial instinct was to deny rapes occurred until presented with evidence she could no longer deny. What does that say about her attitude towards Israelis that she assumed they were lying about being raped & sexually violated by Hamas?

Yes she is right to raise the important concerns she has about maltreatment of Palestinians. But people also have legitimate concerns about her & it’s fair to express them (not right to call her a witch though).

She sent a tweet on 11/10 advising caution on relying on unsubstantiated claims in response to Sky News tweet stating IDF did not have evidence of 40 beheaded babies. She suggested people should wait to hear more from the Israeli army.

I wonder if she would get this much criticism if she were male?

I’m sorry but you are incorrect @Twiglets1 Danny Danon is the representative of Israel at the UN, he is not one person, representatives speak for their countries not as individuals. They present the official position of their country That is why so bizarre,

I do think while obviously misogynistic language is low the bigger concern is the use of sanctions against Albanese to try and shut down her work and silence her

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251023-un-palestinians-expert-denounces-mafia-style-us-sanction-move

The criticism against her is nothing to do with her being female @Stripes56 and I think you are just wrong @Everexpanding about Danny Danon not being his own person but somehow “Israel”.

Danny has some unpalatable views but so does Francesca.

It’s not unusual for people who are drastically losing a moral argument to resort to name calling. If there was a defence, he’d have used it, but there isn’t. The bottom of the barrel is being scraped because no one without a personal interest believes Israel is justified anymore.

@Twiglets1

I disagree it’s got nothing to do with her being a woman, particularly in light of the witch comment by Israeli ambassador and lack of Israeli leadership response to this.

Her main crime however is mainly raising concerns about Israeli treatment of Palestinians. It is unpalatable to some, but that’s her job.

Only one person has called her a witch.

The general criticism against her is not related to her being female. We may have to agree to disagree on that because it comes down to personal opinion.

When Danny Danon called Francesca Albanese a witch and accused her of witchcraft he was speaking in a U.N. meeting as Israel’s representative, the job of a U.N. representative is to represent their country’s position, speeches and positions taken are devised in coordination with government officials of their home state, they do not speak as individuals.

So basically Israel has resorted to accusing a woman of witchcraft to try and silence her

Ambassadors do not typically write their own speeches; it's a collaborative process that usually involves professional speechwriters or their staff.
So basically, the collective opinion of Israel.

I never said it was mainly related to her being a female. Try reading my last post again.

Also important to note that Francesca Albanese’s report would have been received by Israel prior to the meeting and this was the response they chose to give
to quote her :

“It is bizarre and frankly insane that a state committing genocide cannot address the substance of my findings and resorts instead to calling me a witch,”

There is something about powerful articulate women that causes particular ire. It goes against the grain. The calling her a witch taps into this. Even if we were to say it was one man who called her this, until we here from Israeli leaders that their ambassador said something misogynistic - how do we know it does not tap into their underlying beliefs about her as a woman?

She is very brave and resilient in raising her concerns.