In a recent edition of the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights’ NGO Action News, a newsletter that provides updates about civil society organizations relevant to the Palestine issue, a link was shared with the U.S.
Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) list of “5 ways to take action for tax day.” This list included instructions on how protesters who do not want their tax dollars to fund what they perceive as genocide could disrupt a free Palestine.
One of the ways mentioned in the USCPR’s list was a hyperlink for protesters seeking to engage in a coordinated multi-city economic blockade to free Palestine. The USCPR emphasized that this effort was not affiliated with them.
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The organizers of the blockade, known as A15, described their efforts to identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation to cause the most economic impact.
Their goal was to effectively block the arteries of capitalism and jam the wheels of production.
Anne Bayefsky, the president of Human Rights Voices and the director of the Touro University Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, accused the UN of aiding and abetting pro-Hamas anarchists in American cities and streets.
She claimed that the UN distributed a newsletter, in multiple languages and to a worldwide network, that contained links to radical anti-American and anti-Israel agitators, their agendas, and plans.
We have previously reported on the blockades that took place on April 15, where anti-Israel protesters stopped traffic outside various locations, including airports, bridges, and highways.
Gatherings also took place outside the New York Stock Exchange, Philadelphia’s City Hall, and at the headquarters of Valero in San Antonio, among other places. During these events, dozens of protesters were arrested, and there were instances of traffic obstructions and near-accidents.
The UN’s NGO Action News site contains a disclaimer stating that third-party links are not under the control of the United Nations, and the United Nations is not responsible for the content of any linked site.
However, Bayefsky argues that the UN disclaimer is misleading, as she claims that it is UN staff who produce summaries of activist plans and that the inclusion of any announcement or link to a third party must receive prior approval from the UN.
The USCPR’s protest guide contains inflammatory remarks, including referencing President Biden as “genocide Joe” and alleging that Israel is mass murdering Palestinian families with US tax dollars.
However, the summary provided by NGO Action News focuses on the more measured tones within the guide for action, explaining that the USCPR urged the public to pressure the end of US military funding to Israel’s massive violence.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, stated that the Secretary-General does not have the legal authority to label an event as genocide. According to Dujarric, that determination needs to be made by a competent court.
When asked about whether the Secretary-General supports NGO Action News’ instructions for protesters to engage in civil disobedience, Dujarric clarified that NGO Action News is compiled by a mandate conferred by the member states of the UN General Assembly and does not fall under the authority or direction of the Secretary-General.
Bayefsky believes that the recent protests in the US should serve as a wake-up call for American lawmakers and the criminal justice system. She argues that the situation highlights the UN’s history of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias and its campaign to deny Israel its lawful right of self-defense.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its annual audit of antisemitic incidents, which found a 140% increase between 2022 and 2023.
This included a 45% increase in assaults, a 69% increase in vandalism, and an 184% increase in harassment. The ADL observed explicitly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric at 1,352 anti-Israel rallies across the United States after October 7.
When asked if he recognized that anti-Israel protests are among the reasons for the rise in antisemitic incidents in the US, Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General has publicly and repeatedly raised his voice against the rise of antisemitism in many societies.
He also emphasized that calling for the destruction of the State of Israel is a form of modern antisemitism. Both Israel’s foreign minister and the United Nations ambassador have called for Guterres to resign over his treatment of Israel.
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