Israel, Irish Jewish Leaders Condemn UN Rapporteur Albanese Over Remarks to Ireland's Parliament

Israel's Foreign Ministry and the organization representing Ireland's Jewish community on Friday separately condemned Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinians, over inflammatory remarks she delivered to the Irish parliament earlier in the week.

Albanese has frequently faced accusations of antisemitism over past statements about Israel and Jews, while she presents herself as a champion of Palestinian rights and an opponent of discrimination.

Addressing the Irish parliament's Committee on European Affairs, Albanese accused Israel of grave abuses. "Israel has always killed children, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, the use of torture, even rape," she told lawmakers.

"It's destroying the people, the living. You know it when you read the testimonies of people who have been tortured, have been raped, raped by dogs trained in European countries," she said, apparently referencing allegations made in a New York Times column earlier this year, which Israel unequivocally rejected as "blood libel."

"European people are profiting from selling dogs that will rape people. This is abysmal, and instead of having a system using our rule of law to prevent this, there are people who are in jail for denouncing the system," she claimed. Albanese offered no source or evidence for the allegations, and she demanded that the Irish government "show its spine" in opposition to Israel.

In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry described Albanese as "an unhinged conspiracy theorist consumed by her obsessive hatred of Israel," adding that "her vile lies and grotesque accusations are a disgrace to the UN."

The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland condemned both Albanese and the Irish parliament, known as the Oireachtas, for hosting her. "She dismissed documented antisemitism against Irish Jews on national radio, then appeared before an Oireachtas committee making a series of outrageous, unsubstantiated allegations," the council said. "Not one demand for evidence. Not one challenge to her most shocking claims. Instead, she got praise, admiration and smiling photographs."

Hillel Neuer, the head of the pro-Israel watchdog group UN Watch, said in a statement directed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, "You allowed this barking mad lunatic and her friends to bring the United Nations into disrepute." Irish Sen. Chris Andrews, by contrast, thanked Albanese, telling her, "Thank you for your ongoing advocacy. It's inspiring."

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee also hailed her meeting with Albanese, saying, "Ireland will not forget about Palestine and will continue to stand up for the UN."

Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's military campaign against terror groups in Gaza following the deadly October 2023 Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel that triggered the war. Dublin recognized a Palestinian state in 2024, after which Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar ordered the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's "extreme anti-Israel policies" and spiking antisemitism. Ireland has pushed for sanctions and boycotts of Israel, and earlier this month the Irish soccer team protested having to play against Israel by bowing their heads during the Israeli anthem and refusing to shake hands with Israeli players.