UN Watch has been waging a concerted attack on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine. Three Canadians are leading the charge. Read more.
Many Canadians already know that UN Watch is undertaking an international campaign to undermine the work of Francesca Albanese. Most recently UN Watch has convinced the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy to call for Albanese’s resignation based on trumped up accusations of antisemitic bias.
They might not know, however, that three Canadians with close ties to Israel play leading roles in UN Watch.
Neuer Hillel, Executive director. Originally from Montreal, he holds a B.A. in Political Science from Concordia University, a LL.M. in comparative constitutional law from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from McGill University. Neuer served as a law clerk for Justice Itzhak Zamir at the Supreme Court of Israel. He describes Irwin Cotler ( former Canadian Minister of Justice) as his “mentor” and has thrice nominated Cotler for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Neuer came to international attention in 2007 when he made a speech to the UN Human Rights Council that was so grossly offensive and insulting that the chair of the UNHRC, Luis Alfonso de Alba felt obliged to respond sharply. https://unwatch.org/speech/
“For the first time in this session I will not express thanks for that statement, said Mr Alfonso de Alba. ” I am sorry that I’m not in a position to thank you for your statement. I will not tolerate any similar statements in the Council. The way in which members of this Council were referred to, and indeed the way in which the council itself was referred to, all of this is inadmissible.”
Linda Frum, Chair. Linda Frum served in the Senate of Canada from 2009 to 2021, where she took on the cause of defending Israel, and in criticizing “dictatorial regimes from China to Cuba”. In 2022, Ms. Frum chaired the Board of Directors of United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto, one of North America’s leading Jewish community organizations. She has been a member of the UN Watch Board since 2021. She holds honorary doctorates from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Yeshiva University.
As a parliamentarian, Senator Frum distinguished herself in attacking the legal non violent movement proposing to boycott Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.
“In February 2016 the Jewish community was gratified when an anti Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions motion was passed in the House of Commons”.” she told the Toronto Sun in 2018. “The BDS movement with its demonizing agenda against Israel, is the modern face of Jew-hatred.”
Irwin Cotler, Board Member. Irwin Cotler a former Canadian cabinet minister is a past president of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a board member of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations. In 2012, Cotler advised Canadian foreign minister John Baird on rejecting the recognition of the State of Palestine. He is a close friend of American lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who nominated Cotler for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.
Cotler has frequently been accused of attributing genocidal intent to opponents of Israel in order to justify Israeli aggression. In a presentation in Ottawa last year to the Raoul Wallenberg foundation he famously misquoted the Supreme Leader of Iran, claiming he had declared that “there can be no resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict without the annihilation of the Jewish people.” No such quote is to be found. While Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made strong anti-Israel statements, he has stated explicitly that “the destruction of the Zionist should happen by referendum and does not mean the annihilation of the Jewish people in that region.”
What is UN Watch?
The UN Watch NGO styles itself as “a leading voice combating antisemitism and anti-Israel bias at the UN engaging in advocacy at the highest levels of government and countering misinformation in the media.”
It was founded in 1993. In 2001, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Jewish Committee. According to a press release at the time, “UN Watch was established with the generous assistance of Edgar Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress.
UN Watch is an accredited NGO to UN Economic and Social Council. UN Watch claims that it is funded by private individual donations and charitable foundations, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Unlike many NGO’s, UN Watch does not publish an annual report, and there is no information on its website about income or spending. It had a full time staff of 6 in 2008, but based on its output it appears to be well resourced.
UN Watch’s strident attacks on Albanese, some of which are below, are circulated widely to UN members and politicians around the world, including here in Canada.
The UN Watch attack on Albanese, led by Neuer, Frum and Cotler is well-funded and non stop. It does not seem above manipulating her statements and even trimming videos of her speeches as in the most recent case.
“Amnesty has previously raised concerns about personal attacks against Francesca Albanese,” commented Agnes Callamar, President of Amnesty International. “It risks undermining the integrity of the crucial international human rights mechanisms at a time when Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and its cruel system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights Israel control continue with total impunity.”
OFIP will hold a special webinar on Wednesday March 4th with two former UN Special Rapporteurs – Richard Falk and Michael Lynk about the attacks on Albanese. For more information and to register click HERE.
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 