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Amnesty International Attacks Israel — and the Consequences Are Striking
Illustration with the logo of Amnesty International on the vest of an observer of a demonstration in Paris, France, Paris, on Dec. 11, 2021. Photo: Xose Bouzas / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
Amnesty International, a global organization that claims to have the support of seven million people, has long been regarded as a leading voice for human rights; however, its track record on Israel raises concerns about a pattern of selective outrage and disproportionate criticism. From allegations of “apartheid,” to calls for international arms embargoes, Amnesty’s focus on Israel stands out as uniquely severe — raising critical questions about the organization’s impartiality and fairness in addressing complex geopolitical conflicts.
Amnesty’s reports on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often highlight alleged Israeli war crimes, while providing limited context or acknowledgment of provocations by terrorist groups like Hamas. Following the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in which over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and hundreds taken hostage, Amnesty concentrated much of its reporting on Israel’s military response in Gaza.
Amnesty’s focus on civilian casualties caused by Israeli airstrikes ignores the reality that Hamas embeds its military operations within densely populated civilian areas — an act that itself constitutes a war crime under international law.
While Amnesty has condemned Hamas for actions like indiscriminate rocket attacks, the majority of its criticism frequently revolves around framing Israel as the primary aggressor. Amnesty’s false and selective reporting fuels bigoted accusations towards Israel and undermines the organization’s credibility as a neutral facilitator of human rights.
In 2022, Amnesty released a report accusing Israel of practicing apartheid — a term historically associated with South Africa’s racial segregation regime. The organization applied the label to Israeli policies in the West Bank, Gaza, and within Israel’s borders. However, the apartheid accusation grossly oversimplifies the situation, ignoring the complex security measures Israel is forced to implement as a result of constant terrorism.
In Israel, there literally cannot be apartheid — as Arabs and Jews have equal rights under the law, serve in all the same functions of society (including on the Supreme Court, in the Knesset, and in the IDF), and Arabs are granted equal protection under the law.
Furthermore, Israel does not have any control of the West Bank; it is administered by the Palestinian Authority. And until October 7, 2023, Hamas unilaterally ran Gaza. So the charge of apartheid is also legally impossible in both of these places.
Legal scholars and human rights experts have criticized the report for blending counter-terrorism efforts with systemic oppression, a comparison that is blatantly inflammatory and misleading. Anti-Israel campaigns worldwide now use Amnesty’s apartheid claim as a weapon to justify their calls for boycotts of and divestment from Israel.
Aside from all the times it is misleading or factually incorrect, Amnesty’s criticism of Israel fails to provide context. Reports on Israeli airstrikes in Gaza often omit the challenges of targeting terrorist infrastructure embedded within civilian areas. It also ignores the fact that despite Israel giving ample warning for Palestinians to flee targeted areas before an attack or an Israeli anti-terrorist campaign, Hamas urges them to stay.
During and around October 7, Hamas fired over 5,000 rockets into Israeli cities, often from civilian locations like schools and hospitals. Yet, Amnesty’s reports focus on the Israeli response, failing to account for misfired Hamas rockets that caused significant casualties among Palestinian civilians.
Despite the United Nations’ findings that Hamas has used human shields — putting Palestinian civilians at risk during military engagements — Amnesty has neither condemned nor acknowledged this practice. At the same time, the organization was highly outspoken in denouncing Israel’s military response to Hamas’s Oct. 7th attacks, which resulted in the highest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
The bigotry of Amnesty International is a direct reflection of its leadership. Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, has promoted false narratives, including a claim that former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres admitted to Israel’s role in the assassination of Yasser Arafat — one that Peres never made. Despite being exposed, Callamard refused to retract the false statement.
During her time as UN Special Rapporteur, she defended violent riots against Israel, including Hamas’ 2018 attempts to breach the Gaza-Israel border, calling it a legitimate exercise of free speech, despite clear evidence of violence.
She has also opposed Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, claiming the distinction between citizenship and nationality based on race is mind-boggling. Callamard’s stance reflects a deep-rooted bias against Israel in the Amnesty organization.
Recently, Amnesty joined over 250 organizations advocating for a global arms embargo on Israel, citing alleged violations of international humanitarian law. However, such measures ignore the realities of the conflict, where Israel must defend its citizens against a terrorist organization that prioritizes military objectives over civilian safety.
The influence of Amnesty International extends into university campuses, where student organizations often amplify its reports. Many universities in the US and Europe host events and fund programs aligned with Amnesty’s positions, contributing to a growing wave of anti-Israel sentiment among younger generations. As a result of Amnesty’s lies, college campuses are now polarized environments where Jewish and pro-Israel students frequently face unsafe situations — and the truth is being distorted for uninformed students.
Amnesty International’s disproportionate focus on Israel, coupled with its inflammatory rhetoric and selective reporting, undermines its mission to uphold universal human rights standards. By consistently framing Israel as a villain while neglecting the broader context of the conflict, Amnesty risks encouraging tension rather than fostering resolution.
For Israel, the stakes are not just reputational. Amnesty consistently shapes international opinion, drives policy decisions, and encourages campaigns that seek to isolate Israel diplomatically and economically. To ensure fair and effective advocacy, it is essential to hold organizations like Amnesty accountable for their biases, and demand balanced, context-rich reporting on one of the world’s most enduring conflicts.
Gregory Lyakhov has written for The Times of Israel, and is a passionate advocate for Israel. He runs a political blog focusing on elections, law, and Israel.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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