By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-07 20:21:46 | Updated at 2025-01-08 17:16:56
20 hours ago
Amnesty International, which has previously drawn backlash for accusing Israel of “apartheid” and committing “genocide” in Gaza, has now suspended its own branch in the Jewish state for engaging in “anti-Palestinian racism” — in a move that critics have blasted as the latest prejudiced smear.
The non-profit accused members of Amnesty Israel of attempting to “publicly discredit” its criticisms of the Jewish state.
“Its efforts to publicly undermine the findings and recommendations of Amnesty’s 2022 report on Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians and, more recently, Amnesty’s 2024 report on Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, have been deeply prejudicial to Amnesty’s human rights mission, threatening our credibility, integrity and operational coherence,” AI’s interim international chairman, Tiumalu Lauvale Peter Fa’afiu, wrote in an internal January 6 letter to members obtained by The Post.
“We take this action in response to evidence of endemic anti-Palestinian racism within AI Israel, which violates core human rights principles and amnesty values.”
The suspension is in effect for two years.
A review panel will determine whether to reinstate the Israel branch or permanently ban it, according to the missive.
Israel has a right to appeal the suspension.
The move was lambasted by advocacy group StopAntisemitism, which accused Amnesty International of becoming “distorted from their original missions.”
“How did human rights organizations like Amnesty become so distorted from their original missions? Why are they fixated on vilifying the world’s only Jewish state for defending itself during wartime while turning a blind eye to genuine atrocities unfolding in China, Iran, and Sudan?,” the group railed to The Post.
StopAntisemitism also insisted Congress and the International Revenue Service should consider pulling Amnesty International’s tax-exempt status, claiming the human rights group is engaging in partisan political activity.
The suspension of the Israeli branch is just more proof that Amnesty has lost its credibility as a human rights group, said another Jewish rights activist.
“This is what you get when you tell Amnesty the truth. Amnesty suspends its Israel Branch for telling the truth – that there is no genocide in Gaza. Amnesty has lost its moral compass,” Avi Abraham Benlolo, founder of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative, said in a statement on X.
