Pro-Israel group chief boasts of lobbying for sanctions against UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese

Key facts

• UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer stated his organization lobbied the U.S. to sanction UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
• Neuer cited Albanese's comments on the "Jewish lobby" and the October 7th attacks as reasons for seeking sanctions.
• Neuer also claimed UN Watch influenced the demotion of Albanese's husband from his World Bank position.
• Albanese's recent report, "Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide," calls for sanctions against entities involved in activities endangering Palestinians.
• The report explicitly endorses BDS and names 48 corporations, including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, as complicit in Israel's actions in Gaza.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of the pro-Israel NGO UN Watch, has detailed his organization's efforts to lobby the U.S. to impose sanctions on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Speaking at the JNS International Policy Summit, Neuer stated that Albanese's remarks regarding the "Jewish lobby" in America and her comments on the October 7th attacks prompted the sanctions.

Neuer further claimed that UN Watch played a role in the demotion of Albanese's husband from his position at the World Bank following the sanctions against her. "After she was sanctioned, we got her husband, who works for the World Bank, who shares in her incitement," Neuer said.

Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, recently authored a report titled "Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide." This report calls for sanctions against entities and individuals involved in activities that may endanger Palestinians and explicitly endorses the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. The report names 48 corporate actors, including U.S. tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company), and Amazon, as aiding Israel in the displacement of Palestinians and its actions in Gaza. Albanese has previously stated there were "reasonable grounds" to believe Israel was committing genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave.