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UN Hid Details of Official’s Travel Funding Amid Alleged Pro-Hamas Financing
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a side event during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – The United Nations Human Rights Office appears to have disseminated intentionally deceptive information in an attempt to cover up travel funding that pro-Hamas organizations provided to a UN official.
UN special rapporteur for Palestinian rights Francesca Albanese took a politically-charged trip to Australia and New Zealand in November 2023. The trip included a fundraiser for a Palestinian lobby group, participation in media events, as well as meetings with pro-Palestinian politicians and civil society members, and pushing New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund to divest from Israel.
Albanese has been accused of antisemitism by the American, French and German governments, among other entities.
Now, the Australian Friends of Palestine Association, which praised Hamas terror mastermind Yahya Sinwar as “incredibly moving,” claimed publicly that it had “sponsored” Albanese’s visit, and Free Palestine Melbourne, the Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network, and Palestinian Christians in Australia stated that they “supported” the trip. All four are lobbying groups.
i24NEWS asked various UN officials and entities for months whether pro-Hamas groups actually did fund the trip. Albanese repeatedly insisted the trip, estimated by the UN Watch NGO to cost around $22,000, was paid for by the UN, calling claims to the contrary “egregiously false.”
Finally, in July of last year, the UN Human Rights Office, acknowledging it was fully aware of documentation that pro-Hamas groups had said they sponsored or organized the trip, told i24NEWS that, “With respect to the Australia trip by the Special Rapporteur, her travel was funded by the UN.”
They ignored requests to provide any documentation showing that to be the case.
Since then, a six-person panel of Albanese’s peers, who have long attacked her accusers, was assigned the task of investigating a host of accusations against Albanese. In a letter written last month to UN Human Rights Council President Jurg Lauber by that panel, known as the UN Coordination Committee of Special Procedures, they finally acknowledged Albanese had taken “partial external funding for internal trips within Australia and New Zealand.”
i24NEWS asked the media offices for UN Human Rights and Special Procedures for clarity on what seemed to be contrary claims.
Like former US president Bill Clinton’s cagey testimony in the Lewinsky affair, when he famously remarked, “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is,” for the UN Human Rights Office and Albanese, it apparently depends upon what the meaning of the word “to” is.
The Special Procedures office told i24NEWS: “With regard to the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Australia, her travel was funded by the United Nations regular budget. The Coordination Committee of Special Procedures assessed the allegations concerning partial external funding for internal travel (the bolding of the words is theirs) within Australia and New Zealand and concluded that there was no breach of the Code of Conduct. The Committee noted that it is common practice for conference organizers to cover the participation costs of mandate holders, and such arrangements do not constitute a violation of the established standards.”
With that, the UN finally conceded Albanese had in fact received external funding after all.
In follow-up conversations, it became clear: the UN was drawing a distinction between funding for travel TO a country, and funding for travel WITHIN a country – a bizarre distinction they failed to make for a year and a half, almost certainly to avoid discussing the topic of Hamas-supporting groups paying for a UN official’s anti-Israel business travel.
Even with all this, the UN Human Rights Office continues to ignore requests to clarify which group or groups funded this trip, and how much they contributed. Accused by i24NEWS of lying, the Special Procedures Media Office said it was a “regrettable and unfair mischaracterization,” though it still made no attempt to reconcile why the UN made no previous mention of external funding, or why the funding for Albanese’s trip “to” Australia should be counted differently from “external funding for internal travel.”
Asked during a press briefing whether UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would condemn UN spokespeople for intentionally misinforming the media and whether Guterres would support finally releasing the funding information surrounding the trip, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres’ spokesperson, said, “We support transparency in the activities of any official affiliated with United Nations.”
The post UN Hid Details of Official’s Travel Funding Amid Alleged Pro-Hamas Financing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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France Halts Visa Renewals for El Al Staff Amid Growing Airport Worker Protests Targeting Israel Flights
Illustrative: The Israeli flag carrier El Al’s airliner lands at Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 31, 2020. Photo: WAM/Handout via REUTERS
France has reportedly halted visa renewals for security personnel of the Israeli airline El Al amid rising diplomatic tensions, as airport workers in both France and Belgium escalate protests and boycotts against the airline’s flights.
After multiple media reports revealed a six-month delay in renewing stay permits for El Al security personnel in Paris, the Israeli embassy called on French authorities to address the problem, with both governments now engaged in talks to resolve the matter.
The affected staff are Israeli citizens working as ITAN personnel — security employees attached to Israel’s diplomatic missions — for the airline’s Paris operations.
The delays have left some agents in France without legal status, while others have sought temporary diplomatic visas through the Israeli embassy or returned to Israel.
In a separate incident on Monday, El Al made headlines once again after an air traffic controller at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” at one of the airline’s inbound flights during its final approach.
French authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, working closely with Israeli counterparts to ensure a swift and appropriate response.
“El Al takes very seriously the incident that occurred last night, in which a French air traffic controller addressed the company’s pilot in an unprofessional and inappropriate manner,” the Israeli airline said in a statement.
“El Al will continue to fly around the world with the Israeli flag proudly on the aircraft’s tail, while ensuring professionalism and the safety and security of passengers and crew,” the airline continued.
Last week, El Al’s Paris offices were vandalized with antisemitic graffiti and pro-Palestinian slogans spray-painted on walls and doors, including messages such as “Palestine will live, Palestine will win,” “To hell with Zionism,” and “Genocidal airline El Al.”
The Israeli Embassy in France attributed the attack to “a climate of violent and unchecked incitement by some French elected officials,” though it did not specify any names.
France, which has experienced a record surge in antisemitic incidents amid the ongoing war in Gaza, has lambasted Israel for its military campaign against the terrorist group Hamas, announcing plans to recognize a Palestinian state. Israeli officials have described the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”
In another incident, airport staff at Brussels Airport are demanding a suspension of Brussels Airlines flights to Israel, citing the alleged “genocide” in Gaza, as the airline prepares to resume service to Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday.
Airport staff have pledged to boycott flights to Israel “until the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank comes to an end.” Local unions representing the workers have called on the airline to exempt employees from assignments involving Israel “for moral reasons.”
These latest incidents come amid a wave of reports across multiple airlines involving targeted harassment of Jewish passengers and coordinated efforts to boycott Israeli carriers.
This week, a Jewish passenger aboard a JetBlue flight was reportedly served a kosher meal labeled with the slur “Zionazi.”
In a press release, JetBlue confirmed it launched an investigation to determine which flight was involved, emphasizing that no complaints or reports have been filed by customers so far.
“We have zero tolerance for hate, bias, or discrimination,” the statement read. “If we determine that any individual associated with JetBlue or our catering partners was involved, we will take swift and appropriate action.”
In a similar incident last week, a Jewish passenger on an Iberia Airlines flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid discovered “Free Palestine” written on their kosher meal tray, prompting the Spanish airline to launch an investigation.
In a separate incident, Spanish airline Vueling faced backlash last month after forcibly removing a group of French Jewish teenagers from a flight from Valencia to Paris, allegedly for singing in Hebrew.
The forced removal of the group has triggered political outrage in France, after their group leader was handcuffed by Spanish police and a government minister insulted the teens as “Israeli brats.”
The Spanish low-cost airline denied the allegations, insisting the incident was not related to religion but rather that the group was removed because of its members’ “highly combative attitude that was putting the safety of the flight at risk.”
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‘Antisemitic Plan’: Over 100 Rabbis Call for Boycott of North Carolina Democratic Party Over Israel Arms Embargo
Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, speaks after Democrat Josh Stein won the North Carolina governor’s race, in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, Nov. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
A coalition of more than 100 rabbis from across the US has issued a blistering public letter condemning the North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) for its recent vote in favor of an arms embargo targeting Israel, urging others “not to support or collaborate with” the party’s leadership until they renounce their plan.
The letter, titled “Nationwide Rabbinic Protest Letter Against the NCDP’s Recent Vote for Arms Embargo,” was published as a full-page advertisement in the Charlotte Observer. The signatories, who represent synagogues, Jewish federations, and religious organizations from across the US, accused party leaders of taking a “biased” and “morally unsound” stance that singles out Israel while ignoring threats posed by its adversaries.
In late June, the state executive committee of the NCDP passed a resolution calling for an immediate arms embargo on Israel, claiming that weapons and other military aid that the US has provided Israel “have been used to commit the crime of genocide and other war crimes in Gaza.”
According to the coalition of rabbis, the resolution was a “morally unsound” measure and tantamount to declaring that Israel “is the only country that is not allowed to defend itself.” The letter described the move as an unprecedented “one-sided” action that “shocked us all to our core.”
“Your judgment to single Israel out in such an unprecedented, one-sided way rewards Israel’s adversaries,” the letter read, denouncing the call for an arms embargo as “simply a prejudice that we cannot live with.”
The rabbis called on the public to boycott the NCDP until it apologizes for singling out the world’s lone Jewish state, a staunch ally of the US.
“We call on all Jewish people, their allies, and any person who stands against hate not to support or collaborate with North Carolina’s Democratic Party leadership until they renounce their antisemitic plan of an arms embargo against America’s top ally in the Middle East and until they apologize for the cruel way in which they refused to meaningfully engage with vulnerable minority populations, our fellow Jewish North Carolinians,” the letter stated. “The state of North Carolina will not impact the efficacy of the Israel Defense Forces, but they will make North Carolina less hospitable by marginalizing Jewish people with a regression back to bigotry.”
The group, which includes leaders from Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox congregations, drew parallels to historic Jewish alliances with civil rights leaders such as Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. They argued that cutting off military aid undermines Israel’s security, jeopardizes US strategic alliances, and fuels antisemitism by marginalizing Jewish voices in political spaces.
The rabbis urged allies to reject what they framed as the NCDP’s “hateful anti-Zionism” and to “stand against hate, not support or collaborate with it.”
The letter reflects growing tensions between segments of the Democratic Party and pro-Israel advocates, as some progressive activists push for restrictions on US military aid in response to Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the West Bank. While such measures have gained traction in local party bodies, they have also sparked backlash from Jewish leaders and more centrist Democrats who view them as undermining Israel’s right to self-defense.
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Iran Says Direct Nuclear Talks With US Possible Under Suitable Conditions
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Photo: Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran could hold direct nuclear talks with the United States if conditions are suitable, first Vice President Mohammadreza Aref said on Tuesday, according to state media.
But he said US demands for Tehran to drop uranium enrichment entirely were “a joke.”
A sixth round of talks between Tehran and Washington was suspended following Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Both powers accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran has rejected.
“Iran is ready for negotiations under equal conditions in order to safeguard its interests … The Islamic Republic’s stance is in the direction that people want and, should there be suitable conditions, we are even ready for direct talks,” Aref said.
Previous rounds of negotiations, which started in April, were indirect, mediated by Oman. Washington says uranium enrichment in Iran constitutes a pathway to developing nuclear weapons and should be dropped.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made a controversial statement in favor of resuming negotiations with the US regardless of current levels of distrust.
“You don’t want to talk? Well then, what do you want to do? Do you want to go to war? … Going to talks does not mean we intend to surrender,” he said, adding that such issues should not be “approached emotionally.”
A senior commander of Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards, Aziz Ghazanfari, reacting to Pezeshkian’s comments on Monday, said foreign policy requires discretion, and careless statements by authorities can have serious consequences for the country.