Richard A. Falk - Accusations of Antisemitism

Accusations of Antisemitism

On June 29, 2011 Richard Falk posted on his blog an entry regarding the International Criminal Court’s indictment of Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity which included a cartoon image of a dog with a Jewish head-covering and a sweater with the letters "USA"; it was urinating on Lady Justice while devouring bloody human bones. UN Watch, which is affiliated with the American Jewish Committee and sponsored by the World Jewish Congress, contacted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay regarding the cartoon. Falk acknowledged on July 6 that the cartoon was antisemitic and apologized for posting it, adding that "we must also make peace with nature, and treat animals with as much respect as possible."

Abraham H. Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League called on Falk to resign as U.N. Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories saying that "This cartoon is blatantly anti-Semitic and conveys the message that Jews and Americans care little about what is just and moral" and that "the message of hatred in this cartoon nonetheless directly contravenes the principles of the Human Rights Council and of the United Nations itself." United States envoy to the UN Joseph M. Torsella said the posting of the cartoon was "shameful and outrageous" and "an embarrassment to the United Nations", and called on him to resign. US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee also called on Falk to resign. British Prime Minister, David Cameron, instructed the UK's concerns Permanent Representative to express concerns regarding the cartoon and said that he would "continue to closely watch any further actions or comments Mr Falk may make."

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay "acknowledged the cartoon was antisemitic and objectionable." She did not call for Falk’s resignation because of his public apologies and the fact he had swiftly removed the image from his website.

In July 2012, in discussing why he was drawn to the "Palestinian struggle", Falk wrote on his blog, "I formed a well-evidence belief that the U.S. Government and the organized Jewish community were responsible for the massive and enduring confiscation of Palestinian land and rights." UN Watch, accused Falk of "promoting racist remarks," as well as anti-Semitism, "by attempting to blame Jewish communities everywhere for alleged crimes against Palestinians." Falk later responded, writing "I have often opposed policies including those of the US and Israel but to conflate such stands with racism is a wide-ranging and frequently repeated denunciation of my views and activities."

In December 2012, UN Watch published an open letter to Human Rights Watch critical of Falk. Falk was asked to resign from the Santa Monica group’s board and his name was removed from their website, supposedly because his working for the United Nations was contrary to HRW policy. Later that month, in response to a UN Watch press release criticizing Falk, 40 representatives of major international human rights organisations worldwide signed a letter to Human Rights Watch urging the group to "clarify that he was not 'expelled' as an enemy of human rights' as UN Watch claimed". Phyllis Bennis, a signer of the letter, wrote that Human Rights Watch replied on January 1, 2013, stating that the UN Watch letter was filled with "inaccuracies and falsehoods" and repeating Human Rights Watch's statement it was complying with its longstanding policy.

In response to Falk's comments regarding the Boston Marathon Bombings, the British mission to the United Nations stated that “ the third time we have had cause to express our concerns about Mr. Falk’s anti-Semitic remarks. It is important to the U.K. that special rapporteurs uphold the highest standards in their work and we have twice previously made clear that remarks by Mr. Falk were unacceptable.”