US accuses UN official Albanese of 'virulent antisemitism', opposes renewal of her role

The United States has voiced its opposition to the renewal of Francesca Albanese's role as UN Special Rapporteur due to her “virulent antisemitism” in a letter sent on Thursday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 

“Today, the US sent SG@antonioguterres a letter opposing Francesca Albanese’s renewal as UN Special Rapporteur. We condemn her virulent antisemitism, which demonizes Israel and supports Hamas,” the U.S. UN mission wrote in a post on 𝕏. 

“She has clearly violated the UN’s code of conduct and is unfit for her role. Her reappointment would show the @UN tolerates antisemitic hatred and support for terrorism,” the U.S. UN mission continued. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also stated his opposition to the renewal of Albanese’s UN role in a letter addressed to the UN president of the Human Rights Council. 

"Special Rapporteur Albanese has failed to uphold the code," Mast stated in his letter. "She has consistently aligned herself with Hamas terrorists, accused Israel of genocide, likened the Government of Israel to the 'Third Reich,' and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler," he continued. 

A potential second term would mean that Albanese would serve for another three years in her role. 

Mast argued that the code of conduct stated in UN Council Resolution 5/2 requires all UN Special Rapporteurs to act in an independent and impartial capacity. 

"Ms. Albanese unapologetically uses her position as a UN Special Rapporteur to purvey and attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes while serving as a Hamas apologist,” Mast stated. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an NGO dedicated to combating antisemitism, thanked Mast for condemning Albanese’s “reprehensible” conduct and added its voice to the growing opposition to her reappointment. 

The Italian-born UN official Albanese has a history of extreme hostility towards Israel and the Jewish people. In February 2024, Albanese denied the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis in a post criticizing the French President Emmanuel Macron. Instead, she claimed that Hamas' atrocities were a response to Israeli “oppression.” 

“The ‘greatest antisemitic massacre of our century?' No, Mr. @EmmanuelMacron. The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression. France & the international community did nothing to prevent it. My respects to the victims,” Albanese stated.

The events of Oct. 7, which mainly targeted Israeli civilians, constitute the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. 

In October 2024, Albanese compared Israel with Nazi Germany and accused the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and embracing the Nazi ideology of “pure race.” 

“Our collective obliviousness to what led, 100 years ago, to the Third Reich's expansionism and the genocide of people not in conformity with the 'pure race' is asinine. And it is leading to the commission of yet another genocide, yet another regional war and potentially yet another global one,” Albanese said. 

In January 2025, Albanese faced strong criticism for citing the Holocaust while articulating support for the antisemitic and anti-Israel British academic David Miller, who calls for Israel’s destruction. 

“Never again. We, the generation who grew up with a sense of deceit, guilt, and responsibility for the ignorant and coward[ly] ancestors of ours who made the Holocaust happen, we have a role to play today,” Albanese wrote on 𝕏. “I stand with justice, against racism, against apartheid, and with Professor Miller,” she added, implying that it is the Jewish state that is guilty of “racism” and “apartheid.” 

The Media watchdog HonestReporting blasted Albanese for misusing the legacy of the Holocaust by supporting Miller, “an extremist and an antisemite who regularly spews Jew-hate.”