US scales back Biden-era human rights criticism of Israel in latest State Dept report

While the impending trial of Israel’s prime minister and concerns about the proposed judicial review might have featured in previous U.S. reports on human rights, this year, Benjamin Netanyahu can breathe a sigh of relief, according to new revelations in a Ynet News report.

Each year, the U.S. State Department issues a report detailing human rights practices in countries around the world. However, this year, some of the indices measured under the Biden administration have been removed, softening criticism of government corruption and LGBTQ+ rights abuses.

According to a leaked report in the Washington Post, some countries, including Russia and El Salvador, are no longer being targeted for criticism concerning government corruption.

All those failing to uphold LGBTQ+ human rights would also previously have been targeted, representing the vast majority of the Middle East region – except Israel. Now, all that is changing.

The Washington Post obtained a draft of the annual report and revealed that it is significantly shorter than usual. References to LGBTQ+ human rights and gender crimes have been removed by the Trump administration, along with several other areas of concern that had been monitored by previous administrations.

"The documents also are consistent with internal guidance circulated earlier this year by State Department leaders who advised staff to truncate the reports to the minimum required by statutory guidelines and executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, and to remove references to government corruption, gender-based crimes and other abuses the U.S. government historically has documented," according to the report.

Although the State Department has yet to officially release its annual reports – typically published each spring –there are indications that criticism of several nations with documented human rights violations will be toned down.

The war with Gaza was mentioned in last year’s report, heavily criticizing the Hamas terror group and also expressing concern about the numbers killed in the ongoing conflict. The report stated that the war continued “to raise deeply troubling concerns for human rights.”

It also highlighted the horrors of the Oct. 7 attack, saying it “included appalling abuses, including gender-based violence and sexual violence.” While supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, the report stated, “We have made clear that it must conduct military operations in accordance with international law and take every feasible precaution to protect civilians,” before expressing concern about humanitarian conditions in Gaza and violence in the West Bank.

Now, with Trump’s ongoing efforts towards brokering peace in the Middle East, the shift may reflect a broader charm offensive aimed at easing criticism of key regional players, all of whom would have been targeted under the previous criteria.