UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine faces backlash from Italian political left after appearing to defend pro-Palestine violence

UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesa Albanese, has become the center of a political storm in her native Italy, after initially being feted as a defender of human rights and given honors by various political groups. 

In late November, a group of pro-Gaza activists broke into the Turin headquarters of La Stampa, an Italian news agency, defacing and damaging property, while writing offensive graffiti, including calls for the release of Mohammed Shahin, an imam who praised the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and who has been scheduled for deportation for antisemitic incitement. 

There have been several pro-Palestinian protests in Turin over the past year, including many which targeted Jewish institutions. 

Albanese, a fierce critic of Israel over the years, caused a stir a few days after the break-in at La Stampa, after she effectively justified the riots and destruction of property by the pro-Palestinian protesters, saying, “I condemn the violence, but at the same time, let this be a warning for the press to do their job," the UN special rapporteur said. "You must return to reporting for the citizens, not for the economic interests behind those who bought your newspapers.” 

Italian media outlets were some of the most critical of Israel during the war, with many headlines proclaiming the Gaza war to be genocide, and Italian news sites being quick to broadcast stories and provocative pictures in support of the claims of starvation in Gaza. Many of the people depicted in the pictures were later revealed to be suffering from chronic diseases unrelated to starvation. 

The city council of Turin had previously moved to convey honorary citizenship to Albanese, with support from left-leaning parties, such as the Democratic Party. However, the vote was stalled during October, after Albanese started to face some criticism over her use of antisemitic stereotypes against Israel and Jewish groups.

Following her comments last week, Democrat mayor Stefano Lo Russo criticized Albanese’s blaming of the press. “It is serious that, faced with such a violent act, someone would suggest that the responsibility lies even partially with the press,” Russo said. 

Matthew Lepore, the mayor of Bologna, which granted honorary citizenship to Albanese earlier this year, tried to distance himself from the UN special rapporteur, saying “no just cause can justify violence against journalism.” 

Several other Italian cities which were also in the process of granting honorary citizenship to Albanese have reportedly halted the processes. One of those cities is Florence, where the mayor, Sara Funaro, who is Jewish, called Albanese’s comments “inappropriate.” 

“It is unacceptable that such acts are justified by ideals of peace. Violence against journalists is unacceptable and must be denounced unreservedly,” Funaro said, adding that “Albanese's comments on this matter were inappropriate and inconsistent with democratic principles.” 

“We have always tried to promote dialogue, even in times of conflict,” Funaro noted. 

Albanese has continued to assert that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, despite the fact that such a legal ruling has not been made by any relevant world body. In October, she caused a stir when she embarrassed Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor, on television, by storming out of a public discussion, when Segre said that people should be careful about using the term 'genocide'. 

The backlash against Francesca Albanese comes as she has begun complaining about the effects of sanctions levied on her by the United States over her public antisemitic statements, and her issuing of false reports against U.S. organizations supporting Israel.