B’nai B’rith International is outraged by United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Richard Falk’s advocacy of boycotts against multiple companies engaged in business with Israel.
In a report to the U.N. General Assembly, Falk alleged that such major businesses as Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard, Motorola and Volvo have violated international law through perceived complicity in Israeli policies of which he stridently disapproves. These include efforts to protect Israeli communities in Palestinian-claimed territories. Falk “calls on civil society to vigorously pursue initiatives to boycott, divest and sanction” those companies and added that “further investigations… may lead to additional attention” directed at other companies.
“All reasonable people should reject Falk’s newest acts of division and discrimination,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “Once again, his aim is to unfairly single out Israel and to undercut both its security and those who are engaged constructively with it. In turn, he poses a threat to progress and to peace.”
Falk’s latest report follows a history of outrageous statements and actions, including suggestions that the U.S. government may have had involvement in the 9/11 attacks and his posting of an anti-Semitic cartoon on his blog. In recent posts, he has written that “Israeli insistence upon treating Hamas as ‘a terrorist organization’ has blocked a political solution” and that the governing process in the United States is under a “threefold bondage to Wall Street, the Pentagon and Israel.”
“Falk has a track record of baseless, vile attacks on Israel, so his latest attempt to harm and isolate the Jewish state isn’t a surprise,” Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “What is especially disturbing is that he still has a platform to do so. It is disgraceful that he is allowed to present his ‘recommendations’ to the U.N.”
Falk’s biased mandate at the United Nations, and his exploitation of it to malign and delegitimize Israel, remain a tragic but accurate reflection of the Human Rights Council’s record in the Middle East. The council, situated in Geneva, has provided for Falk’s continuing role at the world body.