Israel’s has accused UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese of being a “vile hatemonger” and “hijacking” the words of Primo Levi as part of a campaign to “spread hatred” against the Jewish State.
Albanese, one of Israel’s most outspoken critics at the UN, posted Holocaust survivor Levi’s ‘If This is a Man’ poem through her X account on Sunday.
Responding to an Al Jazeera video about the conditions after heavy rain in Gaza, Albanese posted the poem and wrote: “The images of kids submerged in freezing floodwater, in flimsy tents that won’t survive another winter, make me SICK.
“I think of Primo Levi’s words that every European learns by heart at school – only to forget when entering politics or diplomacy. The shame of our time.”
The images of kids submerged in freezing floodwater, in flimsy tents that won't survive another winter, make me SICK.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) November 8, 2026
I think of Primo Levi’s words that every European learns by heart at school - only to forget when entering politics or diplomacy.
The shame of our time. https://t.co/A0l7wNsebx pic.twitter.com/EATqXEvIwE
Replying to the post, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said: “Francesca Albanese is a vile hatemonger who deliberately desecrates Holocaust memory to spread hatred against Israel.
“Hijacking Primo Levi’s words about Auschwitz for an antisemitic propaganda campaign is absolutely nefarious.
“[Francesca Albanese] must go!!”
Levi, who died in 1987, is a well-known Jewish Italian author of several books, chemist, and survivor of the Holocaust.
His most well-known book, If This Is a Man, was written as an account of the year he spent as a prisoner in Auschwitz – the poem of the same name was written by Levi as the opening preface to the 1947 book.
Albanese, who was appointed Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories in 2022 and confirmed for a further three years in 2025, has long been accused of anti-Israel bias.
Francesca Albanese is a vile hatemonger who deliberately desecrates Holocaust memory to spread hatred against Israel. Hijacking Primo Levi’s words about Auschwitz for an antisemitic propaganda campaign is absolutely nefarious. @FranceskAlbs must go!! pic.twitter.com/5Ayo0Bw1kD
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) November 9, 2026
She has repeatedly come under fire for her social media posts, including one in which she stated the Hamas-led attack on October 7 was a “reaction to Israel's oppression”.
In July 2025, the US imposed sanctions on Albanese and named her a “specially designated national”, forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time Albanese’s “campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated”.
More recently, Albanese was condemned for voicing her support for the UK Green Party’s motion “Zionism is racism”. In March this year, the governments of the UK, France, and Germany called for an “urgent investigation” into Albanese over “a series of comments” under the institution’s code of conduct to “restore confidence” in the independence of the UN position.
Albanese has been approached for comment.
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