UN Palestinian rights investigator denies ‘Jewish lobby’ comments are antisemitic Francesca Albanese dismisses criticism of her antisemitism as ‘politically motivated’; Palestinian foreign ministry rejects condemnations as ‘character assassination’ Luke Tress is an editor and a reporter in New York for The Times of Israel.NEW YORK — A UN official investigating Israeli activities in the Palestinian territories said Thursday that her past statements claiming the “Jewish lobby” controls the US were not antisemitic.#HumanRights — Craig Mokhiber (@CraigMokhiber) December 15, 2022 References to Jews and Jewish lobbies wielding disproportionate power are viewed as antisemitic because they conjure age-old tropes and conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world from the shadows.Her statements have been condemned by the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, the US mission to the UN in Geneva, the co-chair of the US House task force on antisemitism, Israeli officials and leading US Jewish groups.Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva called on the world body to address antisemitism in its ranks, calling Jew-hatred “a persistent malice that has infected the United Nations Human Rights Council for far too long.” Albanese’s predecessors have also been harshly critical of Israel and at least one, Richard Falk, also made antisemitic statements."