By: Fern Sidman

United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, long accused of harboring deep-seated anti-Israel bias, lashed out at the United States on Thursday after Washington imposed sanctions against her for what it described as “malicious and grossly biased conduct” in connection with the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

In an interview from South Africa, Albanese denounced the sanctions as an “orchestrated smear campaign” and likened the U.S. government’s tactics to “mafia-style intimidation,” claiming that her professional and family life had been upended by the measures. “I cannot go to the U.S.,” she told Agence France-Presse. “My assets are frozen, my family is suffering, and my husband, who works for a U.S.-based organization, is affected. This is an attack not just on me, but on the very mission of the United Nations.”

As Israel National News (INN) reported on Friday, Albanese’s outburst marks the latest escalation in a long-running controversy surrounding her role as the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, a position she has used repeatedly to accuse Israel of “genocide” while excusing or contextualizing Hamas terrorism. Her increasingly incendiary rhetoric—culminating in her new report, “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime”—has drawn condemnation not only from Israel but also from Western governments and leading Jewish organizations.

The sanctions, announced in July by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, prohibit Albanese from entering the United States, freeze any assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and restrict financial transactions involving her or her immediate family members. In his statement, Rubio accused Albanese of using her UN platform to “legitimize terrorism, slander a democratic ally, and amplify antisemitic tropes that have no place in international diplomacy.”

“These are not academic missteps,” Rubio said. “They are deliberate acts of political propaganda under the guise of human rights advocacy. Her comments have emboldened violent extremists and undermined efforts toward a just and lasting peace.”

As the Israel National News report highlighted, the decision marks an extraordinary move by the U.S. against a UN official, underscoring the administration’s growing frustration with what it sees as entrenched anti-Israel bias at the United Nations.

Albanese, however, portrayed herself as the victim of political persecution. “It’s a mafia tactic,” she claimed. “They throw mud to discredit and isolate you—to make you pay a price for speaking the truth.”

She accused Washington of using “financial and diplomatic coercion” to suppress criticism of its unwavering support for Israel, adding that the sanctions “reflect the United States’ fear of accountability.”

Ironically, Albanese made her comments from Johannesburg, where she was scheduled to deliver the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture on October 25. The event, according to the Israel National News report, was supposed to serve as the prelude to her presentation of her latest UN report before the General Assembly in New York—a trip now impossible due to the U.S. travel ban.

Her lecture, titled “Justice Beyond Borders,” instead became a pointed attack on Western democracies, accusing the United States and its allies of “moral complicity in genocide.” Albanese reiterated her claim that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constitutes an “extermination of a people,” calling it “the greatest crime of the modern era.”

“It’s about defending people who are being genocided right now,” she told AFP. “The world must not stay silent while entire families are being wiped out. I truly hope my message will continue to be heard.”

For many in Jerusalem, Albanese’s latest statements are part of a familiar pattern. Since assuming her UN mandate in 2022, she has been at the center of repeated scandals over her anti-Israel rhetoric, with critics accusing her of turning a supposedly neutral human rights role into a platform for extremist advocacy.

As the Israel National News report recalled, the first major controversy erupted shortly after her appointment, when journalists uncovered a series of antisemitic social media posts in which Albanese accused the “Jewish lobby” of controlling U.S. policy and described Israel as a “colonial apartheid state born of theft and violence.”

When confronted, Albanese denied the accusations, claiming her remarks were “mischaracterized.” Yet her subsequent statements have only reinforced her reputation as one of the UN’s most openly anti-Israel officials.

In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and 250 hostages abducted into Gaza, Albanese refused to condemn the terrorist organization outright. Instead, she described the attack as “a tragic but inevitable reaction to decades of Israeli aggression,” calling for “contextual understanding” rather than moral outrage.

According to the information provided in the Israel National News report, Albanese went further in several subsequent speeches, comparing Israel’s government to the Third Reich and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler—remarks that triggered diplomatic protests from Israel and multiple Western nations.

In her new report to the United Nations, “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime,” Albanese accuses Israel of “intentional extermination,” charges the U.S. and European nations with “enabling a crime against humanity,” and calls on all states to “suspend military, diplomatic, and economic relations with Israel immediately.”

The 53-page document, obtained by Israel National News, urges governments to impose arms embargoes and sanctions on Israel and to prosecute its leaders for war crimes. It portrays Hamas as a “resistance movement operating under occupation,” with only passing reference to its documented use of human shields or the atrocities committed on October 7.

In Jerusalem, Israeli officials dismissed the report as “propaganda masquerading as legal analysis.” A Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Israel National News that “Albanese’s document is not a report—it’s a political pamphlet written with malice.”

“Francesca Albanese has abandoned any pretense of neutrality,” the official said. “She is no longer a rapporteur. She is a propagandist in UN clothing.”

The controversy surrounding Albanese draws attention to what the Israel National News report described as a “broader crisis of credibility” within the UN human rights system. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has repeatedly criticized the organization for giving a platform to individuals who “vilify the world’s only Jewish state under the guise of humanitarian concern.”

“The UN has become a haven for antisemitic hypocrisy,” Erdan said earlier this year. “Its officials shed crocodile tears for human rights while legitimizing terror against Jews. Francesca Albanese is the embodiment of this rot.”

Even some Western diplomats privately acknowledge that Albanese’s inflammatory tone undermines the legitimacy of the very causes she claims to champion. “She’s made herself the story,” one European envoy told Israel National News. “Instead of advancing Palestinian rights, she’s polarized the debate to the point of absurdity.”

In Washington, the decision to sanction Albanese was met with bipartisan support, with lawmakers from both parties praising the move as a long-overdue stand against institutional antisemitism at the United Nations.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) applauded the measure, saying it “sends a message that there are consequences for spreading hate and delegitimizing Israel.” Meanwhile, Republican Senator Tom Cotton described Albanese as “an apologist for murderers,” adding that “anyone who justifies terrorism should be treated as such.”

Yet the move has also drawn criticism from some international law advocates who argue that the sanctions risk politicizing the UN’s already contentious relationship with the United States. Albanese herself, however, has doubled down, vowing to continue her work from abroad.

“I will not be silenced,” she declared during her lecture in Johannesburg. “History will vindicate those who stand on the side of justice, even if power punishes them for it.”

As the Israel National News report observed, Albanese’s defiance highlights a growing divide between moral rhetoric and factual integrity within the UN’s human rights institutions. While she claims to represent the voiceless, her unwillingness to condemn terrorism—or acknowledge Hamas’s atrocities—has alienated much of the democratic world.

Her self-portrayal as a martyr of conscience, Israeli officials argue, conceals a more troubling reality: a UN apparatus increasingly dominated by politics, not principle.

For Washington and Jerusalem alike, the message is clear. As one Israeli diplomat told Israel National News, “This isn’t about silencing dissent—it’s about standing up to hate. Francesca Albanese is not being punished for telling the truth. She’s being held accountable for spreading lies.”