A lawsuit has been filed against UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese for accusing pro-Israel Christian groups of financing a supposed genocide in Gaza, the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) announced on Monday.
NJAC, filing the federal lawsuit against Albanese for defamation, trade libel, and tortious interference on behalf of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFOIC) and Christians for Israel USA (C4i USA), charged that the UN representative engaged in a “malicious and false campaign accusing the charities of war crimes and other heinous acts” in a June report.
Albanese's report "From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide" included the charities in a list of “enablers,” alleging their donations funded projects “that support colonies, including some that train extremist settlers.”
According to the Rapporteur, this list of “enablers” were “long involved in sustaining the settler-colonial occupation through knowledge, narratives, skills, and investment, and have continued to support, profit from, and normalize an economy operating in genocidal mode.”
The report suggested that entities supporting Israel face legal action, be sanctioned, and pay reparations.
NJAC CEO Mark Goldfeder said that the claims were false and were not articles furthering human rights but defamation and antisemitism.
CFOIC and C4i USA said that the defamation placed the charities’ staff and donors at risk.
“Our mission is simple: to connect Christians with Jewish communities in Israel and foster fellowship,” the representatives said in a statement. "We will not allow lies and antisemitism to silence us.”
Antisemites sought to avoid accountability by bearing the UN flag
George Mason University Scalia Law School Professor Eugene Kontorovich, who consulted with the legal team, said in a statement that antisemites and terror supporters have sought to avoid accountability by bearing the UN flag.
However, this automatic immunity is collapsing with the scandals over UNRWA and the US federal government’s sanctions on Albanese.
NJAC lawyer Rachel Sebbag said in a statement that “if a racist antisemite gains a position of power and proceeds to abuse the public platform she enjoys in order to perpetuate lies about American religious organizations for their compassion toward and allyship with the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel by smearing them and calling for them to be blacklisted and sanctioned, she can and should be held liable for defamation.”