The international body’s Commission of Inquiry report on Israel is classic anti-Semitism.

By Asher Stern, JNS

Countless people across the world have publicly condemned Kanye West’s anti-Semitic tirades in recent weeks, including his threat to go “Death Con 3 on Jewish People’’ and his statements blaming the “Jewish media” for various personal grievances.

If the latter smear sounds familiar, that’s because it was recently used by Miloon Kothari, a member of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) targeting Israel, who claimed over the summer that “the Jewish lobby” controls social media.

In its recently released report on Israel’s May 2021 conflict with Hamas, the CoI does not attempt to hide its biased, anti-Semitic stance. The 28-page screed reads more like a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) educational handbook than a report by a neutral body that claims to seek a better future for all—a goal that the UN appears to have long since forgotten.

Israel is mentioned 277 times in the report. Hamas, which indiscriminately fired some 4,500 rockets at Israeli civilians during the 2021 conflict, is mentioned only as the “de facto authorities in Gaza.” Even in its use of nomenclature, it seems, the CoI was determined to whitewash a brutal terror group whose only goal is the destruction of the State of Israel.

The report’s attempt to ignore Palestinian terrorism and defame Israel goes much deeper. Any mention of Israel’s life-saving security barrier is demonized by the CoI as “de facto annexation.”

The commission fails to mention—or rather chooses to omit—that over a six-year period from 2000 to 2006, over 2,600 terror attacks stemming from Judea and Samaria led to the deaths of over 1,622 people. However, there has been an over 95% percent drop in attacks originating from that same area in the years since the security barrier was constructed.

The CoI also attempts to rewrite international law on occupation. Israel disengaged completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005, leaving no Israeli presence there. And yet, “the Commission notes that Israel continues to occupy the territory.” Once again, the commission looks to vilify Israel by not merely twisting facts, but also engineering new ones completely devoid of reality.

Israel, like any other country in the world, has a responsibility to protect its citizens from harm, including from violent non-state actors like Hamas. It seems that the CoI believes that Israel should simply forego its citizens’ well-being, which would unleash endless waves of Hamas terror. By not openly calling out and demanding accountability of Hamas, the CoI commits a double affront—denying Israel’s right to defend its citizens while greenlighting Hamas terror.

What should be more striking is that not only does the report refuse to condemn Hamas, it makes no mention of Hamas responsibility. Not for its terror attacks on innocent Israeli civilians or its diversion of millions of dollars in aid to terrorist purposes rather than lift its own people out of abject poverty.

The CoI also unjustly blames Israel for the massive inequality and human rights crisis endured by women and girls in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, claiming, “The cumulative effects of occupation practices, including restrictions on movement, have affected the equal rights of women and girls and impeded their self-reliance.” The ridiculousness of this statement should be self-evident.

The UN has also forgotten or chosen to ignore its own guidelines on appointing Heads of Commission, which state: “Members should, in all cases, have a proven record of independence and impartiality. It is also important to ensure that the background of candidates, prior public statements or political or other affiliations do not affect their independence or impartiality or create perceptions of bias.”

Take a look at the records of the three Heads of Commission: Navi Pillay openly supported the anti-Semitic Durban conference and is a vocal proponent of the BDS movement. She has proclaimed Israel guilty of “apartheid” and “war crimes.”

Chris Sidoti has openly called for embargos and boycotts against Israel. Then there are Miloon Kothari’s openly anti-Semitic comments about Jews and the media. Does any of this sound “independent and impartial”?

There is some comfort in the fact that at least Kanye West was rightfully condemned for his anti-Semitic comments. But it is truly baffling that there is hardly any outrage directed at the UN for its predetermined, prejudiced commission, staffed by proven anti-Semites.

If the international community can call out Kanye, it should likewise condemn the biased CoI, demand its disbandment and deny it any credibility.

Asher Stern is head of operations at the International Legal Forum, an Israel-based network of over 4,000 lawyers and activists from around the world.

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“Maybe the UN could learn from Adidas when it comes to hiring blatant antisemites,” Israeli Ambassador Erdan suggested.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

In a debate on Thursday at the United Nations, several countries, as well as the European Union, defended Israel against the biased Commission of Inquiry into Israel, including the Netherlands, Guatemala, Germany, Australia, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Marshall Islands, Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Canada, Liberia, Italy, Uruguay and Micronesia.

The commission was established to examine last year’s 11-day Israel-Gaza conflict, but it was given an unprecedented open-ended mandate to monitor Israeli actions. No UN inquiry has ever been tasked with an ongoing investigation, and Israel has refused to cooperate with the commission.

“The United States remains deeply concerned about the creation of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) last May. We reiterate our position that this does nothing to advance peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The final report presented today includes recommendations that reflect the unwieldy scope of the COI,” U.S. Ambassador Lisa Carty stated on Thursday.

“We also reaffirm our condemnation of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias. We cannot ignore the fact that a current member of the commission made antisemitic comments in late August, referring disparagingly to the ‘Jewish lobby’ and questioning whether the State of Israel is meeting its obligations as a member of the United Nations. We categorically reject this statement, which we deem to be outrageous, inappropriate, and corrosive.

“We regret that senior UN leadership has still not publicly repudiated these repugnant statements or asked this commission member to step down. No country is above scrutiny, and we will continue to advocate that the UN system treat any concerns related to Israel the same way it treats concerns with other States,” Carty’s statement continued.

“We ask: Can you provide information on steps you are taking as chair of the COI to ensure related human rights monitoring and investigative mechanisms remain fully objective and impartial?”

The 28-page reported, submitted last week, cites “reasonable grounds” to conclude that the “occupation” of the Palestinians “is now unlawful under international law due to its permanence” as well as the Israeli government’s “de-facto annexation policies.”

Indeed, the panel included Miloon Kothari, who is on record as saying that social media is controlled by the “Jewish lobby” and that “a lot of money is being thrown into trying to discredit us” – for which he later apologized He had also suggested that Israel be thrown out of the UN.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Miloon’s apology “hollow,” describing it as a “pathetic and unconvincing maneuver” that does not compensate for his long record of anti-Semitic comments.

The other two COI members were South African jurist Navi Pillay, who has been a supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and backed Palestinian efforts to label Israel a criminal state, and Australian human rights lawyer Chris Sodati, who is closely associated with non-governmental organizations in Ramallah and Australia that advocate for BDS.

‘How can you be so heartless?’

“Members of the COI, can you look into the eyes of Ido’s parents and explain to them why you deliberately ignore their son’s murder? How can you be so heartless?” Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement Thursday.

The ambassador was joined by Shani and Asaf Avigal, the parents of the late Ido Avigal, who was killed by a Hamas rocket that hit the bomb shelter of his home during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.

“Ms. Pillay, calling Israel an apartheid state and supporting the boycott of Israel are the only reasons why you were chosen to lead this Commission,” Erdan charged.

“Could anyone honestly think you’re impartial? Mr. Sidoti, not only do you ridicule antisemitism, you’re also a strong supporter of numerous pro-Palestinian organizations. You’re definitely not an objective member. According to Mr. Kothari, Israel doesn’t even deserve to be a member of the UN, and that’s just a taste of his venomous statements.”

“I am 81 years old, and this is the first time I have been accused of antisemitism,” Pillay, a former UN human rights chief and chair of the Commission, stated, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.

“Maybe the UN could learn from Adidas when it comes to hiring blatant antisemites,” Erdan concluded, referring to the sports giant’s ending of its partnership with Kanye West.

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Erdan said Muscroft’s ouster creates a “very problematic norm,” granting Palestinians “an unwritten veto” over statements by UN officials.

By JNS

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday urged the UN to reinstate Sarah Muscroft, who was ousted as head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Palestinian Authority for condemning Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

“Israel is disturbed to see that Palestinian outrage over tweets would so quickly devolve into ending the ability of a senior UN staffer to keep her job, and to express herself,” wrote Gilad Erdan in an open letter to UN Secretary General António Guterres.

Muscroft was swiftly pushed out after a tweet last week in which she condemned the “indiscriminate rocket fire” of the Gaza-based terrorist group.

“We call on OCHA to reverse this unfortunate decision, which is perceived as a reward for intimidation and threats,” wrote Erdan.

The Israeli ambassador said Muscroft’s ouster creates a “very problematic norm,” granting Palestinians “an unwritten veto” over statements by UN officials.

“In the best case, this is a recipe for misguided self-censorship by UN officials,” wrote Erdan. “In the worst case, it is a prescription for UN officials to exclusively emphasize the Palestinian narrative, even if this falls in contradiction with facts on the ground, honest reporting, or Israel’s legitimate interests.”

Muscroft later deleted her tweet, which she said had been “ill-informed,” and then erased her entire Twitter account.

Erdan pointed out in his letter that this wasn’t the first time a UN official had been shunted aside after failing to adhere to the Palestinian narrative.

“Somehow, it is always open season to criticize Israel, with no repercussions, but if a UN staffer dares to speak against Palestinian terrorism, there is immediate backlash in fear of reprisal,” wrote Erdan.

Erdan noted that Miloon Kothari, a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s Commission of Inquiry investigating alleged Israel war crimes, had been allowed to keep his position even after recently accusing the “Jewish Lobby” of controlling the media.

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“It was completely wrong for me to describe the social media as being controlled largely by the Jewish lobby,” Miloon Kothari stated.

By TPS

The government of Israel has rejected the apology made by Miloon Kothari, a member of the UN Commission of Inquiry tasked with investigating Israel, for his recent anti-Semitic remarks. Kothari said that social media is controlled by the “Jewish lobby” and complained, “A lot of money is being thrown into trying to discredit us.”

Kothari issued an apology for his comments saying, “It was completely wrong for me to describe the social media as being controlled largely by the Jewish lobby.”

“This choice of words was incorrect, inappropriate, and insensitive,” he added.

In response, however, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the apology “hollow” and describing it as a “pathetic and unconvincing maneuver” that does not compensate for his long record of anti-Semitic comments.

The Foreign Ministry demanded that Kothari and his colleagues resign immediately, “in light of the anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli statements of the commissioners, and the fact that they do not meet the minimal standards of neutrality and impartiality required from individuals in these positions in the UN.”

The ministry also called for the commission itself to be disbanded in its entirety, just as Prime Minister Lapid demanded just a few days ago.

“If the UN is committed to fighting antisemitism and to upholding its values,” said the ministry, “this is the only reasonable and acceptable result.”

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“The fight against antisemitism cannot be waged with words alone, it requires action,” the letter states.

By World Israel News Staff

In response to the antisemitic comments made by senior members of the Commission of Inquiry into Israel’s alleged “war crimes” against Palestinians, Prime Minister Yair Lapid sent a letter on Sunday to UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanding “the immediate removal of all three members of the Commission of Inquiry tasked with investigating Israel, and the disbanding of the Commission.”

“I call on you today to honor your word in this egregious case, to set the record straight,” Lapid stated. “This cannot stand. Slurs about a ‘Jewish lobby’ that acts to ‘control’ the media are reminiscent of the darkest days of modern history.”

“The fight against antisemitism cannot be waged with words alone, it requires action,” the letter continues. “This is the time for action; it is time to disband the Commission. From Mr. Kothari’s outrageous slurs to Ms. Pillay’s defense of the indefensible, this Commission does not just endorse antisemitism — it fuels it.”

The prime minister’s demand comes in the aftermath of antisemitic statements by Commission member Miloon Kothari, which join a series of antisemitic incidents as well as the unmistakable anti-Israel sentiment within the UN’s Commission of Inquiry.

The letter is part of a comprehensive and intensive effort led by Israel in recent days.

Representatives of several countries have already condemned Kothari’s remarks, including the United States, France, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Austria, as well as the European Union.

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Miloon Kothari’s remarks “could reasonably be interpreted as stigmatization of the Jewish people,” says UN Human Rights Council president.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

United Nations officials are at odds over antisemitic remarks made by a member of a commission investigating alleged Israeli human rights abuses against the Palestinians.

In a podcast interview last week with Mondoweiss, a website hostile to Israel, Kothari claimed that social media is controlled by Jews and suggested that Israel deserved to have its UN membership revoked.

Kothari also accused Israel of practicing “apartheid” and “settler colonialism” against the Palestinians.

Israel faces an unprecedented, “open-ended” Commission of Inquiry, established by the UN Human Rights Commission, after last year’s 11-day conflict with Hamas. Its mandate is to investigate Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

It is widely believed that the commission’s ultimate aim is to label Israel an apartheid state. Israeli officials refuse to cooperate with the probe.

Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who heads the investigation, quickly came to Kothari’s defense, saying the remarks reflected the commission’s “disappointment” with Israel’s “continued lack of cooperation.”

Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar, who represents Israel at the Geneva-based UN agencies, slammed Pillay’s “defense of the indefensible” in a letter to UNHRC President Federico Villegas.

The letter, which was seen by AFP, said Pillay “endorsed anti-Semitism.”

AFP also reported that Villegas sent a letter to Pillay noting that Kothari’s remarks “could reasonably be interpreted as stigmatization of the Jewish people, which… is at the heart of any expression of antisemitism.”

Villegas added, “I would respectfully suggest that Commissioner Kothari consider the possibility of publicly clarifying his unfortunate comments and his intentions behind them.”

So far, Kothari has issued no such clarification.

Other Western diplomats have criticized Kothari’s remarks.

“Outrageous that an appointed human rights expert on Israel and the West Bank and Gaza repeated antisemitic tropes & questioned Israel’s legitimacy as a UN member,” tweeted Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.

“We denounce this continued, egregious antisemitism. This rhetoric is unacceptable – not to mention dangerous – especially from a head of state. It must cease.”

We denounce this continued, egregious antisemitism.

This rhetoric is unacceptable – not to mention dangerous – especially from a head of state. It must cease. https://t.co/m2JmxRMUrz

— Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt (@StateSEAS) July 28, 2022

Pillay has a history of prejudicial comments against Israel, prompting UN Watch to circulate a petition calling on Pillay to recuse herself from the probe.

The third member of the commission, Chris Sidoti, a human rights lawyer and advocate, has been associated with non-governmental organizations in Ramallah and Australia advocating for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

Shahar’s letter to Villegas called on all three members of the commission to resign.

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Miloon Kothari also used a classic antisemitic trope, claiming that the “Jewish lobby” controls social media.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A top UN official said Monday that Israel should be thrown out of the UN due to the way it treats both Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, in a report by anti-Israel media site Mondoweiss.

“I would go as far as to raise the question of why [Israel is] even a member of the United Nations, because… the Israeli government does not respect its own obligations as a UN member state,” said Miloon Kothari, one of three members of the Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory’ (OPT).

Charging that Israel “is in systematic violation” of “humanitarian law, human rights law, criminal law,” he said, “They, in fact, consistently, either directly or through the United States, try to undermine UN mechanisms.”

The Commission came out last month with its first report on the origin of the Middle East conflict, pointing to the “perpetual occupation” of the regions Israel liberated during 1967’s Six Day War as “the underlying root cause of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict.”

It blasted Israeli behavior regarding Palestinians both “within Israel” as well as the OPT, charging Israel with “longstanding discrimination” all the way back to the state’s founding and not just since 1967.

No recognition is made in the report of the disputed nature of the territory, to which Israel has a strong, legal claim according to many international legal scholars.

Neither is any mention made of the tens of thousands of rockets Palestinians have fired indiscriminately into Israel over recent years or the ongoing terrorist attacks, which is the reason for the defensive measures Israel practices to protect its citizens – Arab and Jewish alike.

Kothari went even further than the initial report in condemning Israel, saying, “Apartheid is a useful paradigm/framework to understand the situation but not sufficient.”

“Ending ‘apartheid’ will not end the crisis of occupation for the Palestinian peoples,” he added, lumping Arab citizens of Israel together with the Arabs living in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories.

The Commission would get to the apartheid issue, he promised, as well as “tackle this issue of how far you can take antisemitism.”

‘From the river to the sea’

Twice during the interview, Kothari mentioned investigating the human rights situation “from the river to the sea.” This expression is considered antisemitic as it is used by Israel’s foes to promote the elimination of the Jewish state in its entirety – from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – rather than the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria.

Kothari also used a classic antisemitic trope when he criticized efforts by countries such as the U.S. and Canada to stop the Commission’s work.

“We are very disheartened by the social media that is controlled largely by – whether it’s the Jewish lobby or it’s specific NGOs, a lot of money is being thrown into trying to discredit us,” he said.

Prof. Anne Bayefsky, a prominent Canadian lawyer and human rights expert who heads the Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, was not surprised by Kothari’s statements.

He and his fellow Commission members had been appointed “precisely because of their very well-known bias against Israel – which this interview obviously confirms,” she said Tuesday, as reported in conservative American news site CNSNews.

Kothari’s statements, she added, were “a grotesque display of antisemitism.”

“The legitimacy of this UN inquiry is shot,” she said. “It is an ‘inquiry’ supposedly about ‘systematic discrimination’ whose purpose and practice is to engage in systematic discrimination – against the Jewish state and Jews.”

Jerusalem has refused to cooperate in any way with the UN investigation, citing its “discriminatory and biased” nature,and its unprecedented mandate to be permanent and open-ended.

The Commission’s next report is set to be presented to the UN General Assembly in October.

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