Francesca Albanese, a U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories who has faced repeated criticism over her comments on Israel and Hamas, mocked the mother of a victim of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks after the woman said she felt “hatred” while attending an event at which Albanese was honored.
Carolin Bohl, a 22-year-old German fashion student and model, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel.
In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Bohl’s mother, Sonja Bohl-Dencker, recalled attending a film premiere in Berlin in March where Albanese was a guest of honor.
“I have never been in a room where I felt so much hatred,” Bohl-Dencker said. “Everywhere keffiyehs, terrible slogans and sheer hatred against everything connected with Israel.”
Responding on a social media post citing Bohl-Dencker’s remarks, Albanese wrote, “Change medication.”
The comment drew scrutiny because a lawsuit filed by Albanese and members of her family seeking to overturn U.S. sanctions imposed on her states that Albanese and her husband were prescribed medication after suffering health issues they attributed to the sanctions. According to the filing, Albanese was treated for stomach ulcers, while her husband suffered from anxiety and insomnia.
Albanese has repeatedly generated controversy over statements regarding Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s subsequent war against the terror group in Gaza. She has also faced criticism for declining to provide evidence rebutting allegations that pro-Hamas organizations helped sponsor her official travel to Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
She has also drawn criticism from across the political spectrum in Italy, her home country, for comments largely interpreted as a threat of violence against media who question her accusations that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza.
