Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Hadassah: UN Commission of Inquiry report biased, distorted

The United Nations report findings “pave the way for violent extremists across the globe to rape and murder civilians with impunity,” Hadassah’s national president said.

António Guterres
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the Town Hall Meeting with Civil Society on the occasion of the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, March 13, 2024. Credit: Mark Garten/U.N. Photo.

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has criticized the June 12 report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, saying it shows “the same bias and distortion as its previous ones, including blaming Israel for both Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and its response in self-defense.”

The commission’s “dangerous efforts to downplay and justify Hamas’s terrorism and disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians pave the way for violent extremists across the globe to rape and murder civilians with impunity,” stated Hadassah national president Carol Ann Schwartz.

The report “ignored the overwhelming evidence and failed to hold Hamas responsible for its crimes against humanity, including the clear and systematic weaponization of sexual violence on Oct. 7 and beyond,” said Schwartz.

The Hadassah leader called on the United Nations to end the commission, which she said comprises “clearly biased commissioners, who have repeatedly made antisemitic statements and excused Hamas’s terrorism, in clear violation of U.N. standards of impartiality.”

Hadassah called for António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, “to condemn Hamas for its weaponization of sexual violence against Israeli women and girls on and since Oct. 7 and to call these crimes what they are: crimes against humanity.”

The decision follows a U.N.-commissioned investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and comes ahead of a July 24 vote by ICC member states on whether to remove Khan from office.
“It’s difficult to stand among ancient stones and not recognize the power of a people maintaining a connection to places that have shaped their story for thousands of years,” said one participant.
Panelists at JNS Summit call for a strong response to international legal challenges facing Israel.
The unarmed suspect unarmed, and there was no infiltration into Israeli territory, according to the Israeli military.
Israel will not withdraw from Southern Lebanon or Syria security zones despite potential U.S. pressure, said Israel’s defense minister.
The former U.N. ambassador and senior Likud member said he is focused on “significant decisions.”
Benny Gantz, JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan S. Tobin, Gilad Erdan, Mosab Hassan Yousef, Nissim Black and leading voices in security, diplomacy, media, law and Jewish communal affairs headline the summit’s third day in Jerusalem.