The United Nations’ “Special Rapporteur” on human rights for Palestinians justified the October 7 terror attack on Saturday, saying that it was a reaction to Israeli oppression.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Francesca Albanese objected to French President Emmanuel Macron expressing sympathy for the victims. She wrote (translated from French by Google): “The ‘greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century’? No, Mr. @EmmanuelMacron. The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression. France & the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims.”
Le ‘plus grand massacre antisémite de notre siècle’? Non, M. @EmmanuelMacron. Les victimes du 7/10 n’ont pas été tuées à cause de leur judaïsme, mais en réaction de l’oppression d’Israël. La France & la communauté int’le n’ont rien fait pour l’empêcher. Mes respects aux victimes. https://t.co/uiXOkD7HV4
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) February 10, 2024
In response, the French government said (translated by Google): “The October 7 massacre is the largest anti-Semitic massacre of the 21st century. Disputing it is a mistake. Seeming to justify it, by including the name of the United Nations, is a shame. These comments are all the more scandalous since the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of racism are at the heart of the founding of the UN.”
Le massacre du 7 octobre est le plus grand massacre antisémite du 21e siècle. Le contester est une faute. Sembler le justifier, en y mêlant le nom des Nations Unies, est une honte.
Ces propos sont d’autant plus scandaleux que la lutte contre l’antisémitisme et toutes les formes… https://t.co/IGOfEP5Q0q
— France Diplomatie (@francediplo) February 10, 2024
As the Times of Israel noted, Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, called for Albanese to be fired:
The @UN‘s recent statement to the French President, framing the October 7th massacre as a reaction to ‘Israeli oppression’ rather than an act of anti-Jewish hatred, is deeply troubling. I call on Secretary-General @antonioguterres to fire @FranceskAlbs immediately. The time of… https://t.co/PTItZRTJNG
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) February 11, 2024
As Breitbart News has reported, Albanese has a long history of antisemitic statements, as well as radical anti-Israel statements.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.