World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder on Thursday called for the removal of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, joining a growing list of those who have called for her removal due to her constant anti-Israel statements.
In a statement ahead of his attendance at this week’s Munich Security Conference, Lauder said, “Amid growing geopolitical turbulence and a disturbing rise in antisemitism, it is essential that world leaders stand firmly behind US President Donald J. Trump’s initiatives to promote stability, ensure the safety of the Jewish people, and advance peace."
“Key among these is the recent sanctioning of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, a dangerous figure who continues to use her position to promote discredited conspiracy theories, divisive and antisemitic narratives, and who represents an extremist ideological agenda rather than that of the United Nations," added the WJC President.
“As I meet with leaders in Munich and in the weeks ahead, I will advocate for a clear moral line to be drawn. Individuals such as Ms. Albanese must be removed from the UN before more damage can be done to the Jewish people - and the institution’s mission," he concluded.
Earlier on Thursday, Austria and Germany called for the resignation of Albanese following her recent remarks calling Israel the "common enemy of humanity."
The French government previously called for Albanese to step down over the remarks. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told lawmakers that France "unreservedly condemns the outrageous and reprehensible remarks made by Ms. Francesca Albanese, which are directed not at the Israeli government, whose policies may be criticized, but at Israel as a people and as a nation, which is absolutely unacceptable."
The calls for her removal follow remarks delivered at the Al Jazeera conference, in which Albanese had said: “The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support ... We who do not control large amounts of financial capitals, algorithms and weapons, we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy."
Albanese later claimed in an interview with France24 that she "never, ever, ever said ‘Israel is the common enemy of humanity,'" calling the accusations "completely false accusations."
Albanese’s history of anti-Israel statements and actions is well-documented and dates back to social media posts uncovered in 2022, in which she claimed that the “Jewish lobby" controls the US.
At the time, Albanese rejected arguments that the comments about the “Jewish lobby" were antisemitic and claimed they were “mischaracterized", but her anti-Israel bias has continued to be exposed since.
Her criticism of Israel has grown since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. The attack, in which Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 people and took 250 hostages, was described by Albanese as an act that must be viewed in “context" and as a response to Israeli “aggression."
She has also in recent months accused Israel of genocide, likened the Government of Israel to the “Third Reich," and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.