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Fighting Hatred at the United Nations, One Person at a Time
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, before a meeting about the conflict in Gaza, Nov. 6, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
This week I met one of my heroes. What was even nicer is that this hero didn’t turn out to be a disappointment. On the contrary, after meeting him, I am more convinced than ever of what a hero he is. I am talking about Hillel Neuer.
Hillel Neuer is a Canadian-born international lawyer and human rights activist, best known for his role as the Executive Director of UN Watch, a human rights NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland. UN Watch, as its name suggests, focuses on monitoring the performance of the United Nations using the yardstick of its own Charter.
UN Watch also advocates for genuine human rights and equality, particularly in contexts where these ideals are threatened by rogue agencies or individuals within the UN, who have a political or ideological agenda that conflicts with the original aspirations of the United Nations.
Over the years, Neuer has been a vocal critic of various UN bodies, including the Human Rights Council, for their failure to effectively address or even acknowledge human rights abuses around the world, even as they obsessively focus their attention on Israel to the exclusion of countless other pressing global human rights issues.
Neuer argues that this preoccupation with Israel undermines the UN’s credibility and compromises its mission to uphold human rights around the world.
As Neuer has proven time and again, UN officials, such as Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, are emblematic of this endemic and blatant bias.
Albanese is particularly egregious. In 2022, she controversially suggested that America is controlled “by the Jewish lobby.” And a few weeks ago, she contested French President Emmanuel Macron’s description of the October 7th Hamas massacre as the “largest antisemitic massacre of our century.” In Albanese’s opinion, the Hamas-perpetrated pogrom was an understandable response to “Israel’s oppression” and had nothing to do with the fact that the victims were Jewish.
According to Neuer, the UN stance vis-à-vis Israel not only diverts attention from widespread human rights violations in other countries, but also detracts from the UN’s ability to serve as an impartial arbiter of international human rights standards. Neuer is known for his fearless speeches and presentations at UN meetings, where he frequently calls out member states and UN bodies for their hypocrisy or for their failure to live up to the UN’s self-proclaimed standards.
In a 2016 interview, Neuer noted that in that year, the World Health Organization had condemned just one country for violating people’s health rights — Israel, due to its “treatment” of Syrians in the Golan Heights. Neuer called this anti-Israel bias “Orwellian, paradoxical, and absurd.” As he pointed out, “Israel should be singled out — but for their incredible medical treatment of refugees from Syria’s war.”
Truthfully, George Orwell’s 1984 offers a powerful analogy for the UN’s absurd emphasis on Israel, while ignoring rogue states that continue their misconduct unchecked.
In the topsy-turvy UN world, where truth is manipulated and the narrative controlled, Neuer’s work at UN Watch echoes the efforts of Winston Smith against the omnipotent Party in 1984. Smith sought to uncover and preserve truth in a society dominated by doublethink and subversive revisionism; Neuer endeavors to hold the UN accountable, challenging its prejudiced and inaccurate narratives, and calling for a return to its foundational principles of impartiality and universal human rights.
In Orwell’s dystopian Oceania, reality is whatever the Party deems it to be, and dissenting voices are systematically silenced. The UN, through its various bodies, has become a real-life version of Oceania. Its official view of Israel is negative, and that’s all that matters. Meanwhile no other country is subjected to anything close to the disapproval Israel is forced to suffer. UN bodies and UN resolutions are riddled with anti-Israel bias, and the inevitable result is that the UN’s humanitarian and ethical compass have been irreparably skewed.
Orwell’s protagonist in 1984 ultimately pays a heavy price for his defiance. But Neuer is undeterred, despite facing formidable opposition in his quest to ensure that the UN remains true to its charter and its commitment to human rights for all, free from any political or ideological bias. This week, he addressed a packed event in Los Angeles. His detailed presentation followed an enthusiastic introduction by comedian Elon Gold.
You’d think that after so many years of battling wolves presenting themselves as sheep, that Neuer would be disheartened and downbeat. But he isn’t — he is buoyant and battle-ready for the next fight. And no matter how overwhelming the challenge, Neuer sees his role as crucial for the international community. Even if he is unable to effect meaningful change, he is the voice of record — a voice that will continue to reverberate down the years. No one will ever be able to say in years to come: “We didn’t know!” They knew – because Hillel Neuer told them countless times and in countless ways.
In Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on Parshat Shemini, he delves into the tragic episode of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron the High Priest who were punished for offering “strange fire” before God. Rav Hirsch interprets the fate of Nadav and Avihu as a profound admonition about the sanctity of adhering strictly to doing what is right, particularly for those in positions of leadership and service. He posits that every action, particularly for those in the service of the community at large, must be approached with honesty, integrity, and a deep commitment to the principles they purport and are expected to uphold.
This message resonates precisely with the ethos behind Hillel Neuer’s superlative advocacy work. Neuer’s dedication to truth and justice, challenging bias and dishonesty at the United Nations, mirrors this integral Jewish imperative to uphold truth and righteousness. Rav Hirsch emphasizes how critical it is to adhere to ethical standards, and notes the consequences of deviating from divinely ordained paths, underscoring the importance of Neuer’s mission.
Just as Nadav and Avihu’s story serves as a caution against the perils of overstepping bounds without proper authority or intent, the UN needs to be conscious of the path it continues to travel, and the ultimate result of deviating from its original lofty and worthy goals. In the meantime, Hillel Neuer will continue to chart the UN’s voyage into the dark abyss — although, hopefully, his relentless advocacy can avert that tragedy from happening.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post Fighting Hatred at the United Nations, One Person at a Time first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.