A Public Letter: Stop Smearing Euro-Med
CrossFireArabia- June 10, 2026
By Richard Falk
My name is Richard Falk, retired professor of international law at Princeton University. I speak here as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, a civil society organization based in Geneva, that reports on human rights throughout the Middle East and North African region with a special focus on violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people. I am most proud to be associated with Euro-Med due to the fearless dedication it has displayed in its on the ground documenting and reporting upon human rights abuses since 2011 when it was founded by its current inspirational leader Ramy Abdu who has served throughout its existence as its Chair. In all my contacts with Ramy Abdu I have admired how much this civil society initiative has achieved with such a modest budget, heavily depending for the collection of evidence and documentation of allegations on unpaid volunteers from the region, mostly young persons committed to the promotion of human rights.
What has impressed and moved me about Euro-Med is the indispensable work done over the 15 years of its existence under the most difficult circumstances. I make this statement now in response to the intensification of defamatory attacks on Euro-Med as biased and linked to Hamas by the government of Israel and by pro-Israel media and Zionist zealots in Western countries, particularly the United States. These attacks intended to be discrediting have included vicious media diatribes and threats of violence against Euro-Med staff members that have forced the organization to divert attention from its crucial substantive priorities to take prudential measures to protect its staff.
This recent escalation of defamatory attacks on Euro-Med and its leadership has been prompted by the publication of an opinion column written by Nicholas Kristof, a prize-winning regular contributor to the New York Times on May 11, 2026. This carefully reasoned and sourced article explicitly relied on Euro-Med Reports to ground his confirmation of severe forms of sexual violence engaged in by Israeli prison official and IDF soldiers in dealing with Palestinian civilians, and particularly detainees, including women and children. It was not unusual for influential media, NGOs, and activists to rely on Euro-Med reports given its reputation for trustworthy information. In this instance, Kristof’s eminence as a journalist, and even more because the NYT enjoyed had a long record of being a pro-Israeli news source that self-censored itself with respect to the most incriminating abuses by Israel of its legal and moral responsibilities in relation to the Palestinian people.
Kristof’s reference to Euro-Med’s documentation of sexual violence against Palestinians should have enhanced the credibility and demonstrated the effectiveness of Euro-Med instead of serving as a launching pad for a smear campaign that is characteristic Israeli behavior whenever so accused, a practice of shifting the conversation to the credibility of the message as a means of ignoring the message, especially when its veracity is beyond a reasonable doubt.
These charges of sexual violence, shocking as they were, came as no surprise to close observers of Israel’s behavior in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The surprise was that the NYT had finally broken its habitual silence about Israeli atrocities for so long even when the evidence of systematically and flagrantly violating human rights principles was irrefutable.
This pattern of Israel’s sexual abuse in the aftermath of the October 7 Gaza attack became more extreme and notorious. This development was a major theme of the detailed report in March 2025 by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory established by the UN Human Rights Council. Additional to the description of instances of human rights abuses was the extremely damning assessment that ‘sexual and gender-based violence’ had become for Israel a ‘method of war.’ It was acknowledged there was lacking convincing evidence that this was explicitly adopted by the Israeli government. Yet the Commission believed this behavior was implicitly endorsed by Israeli officialdom that responded to even the most extreme abuses by granting governmental impunity to the wrongdoers however serious the international crimes.
It is of utmost importance to support the integrity of Euro-Med and other objective human rights organizations and not allow state propaganda and extremist support groups of Israel to shut down or defame courageous efforts to expose human rights abuses. This attack on Euro-Med should be understood as part of a wider campaign of punitive response to truth-tellers (in contrast to impunity for wrongdoers) who are risking not only their reputations but their lives by devoting their efforts to the dissemination of inconvenient truths. United States sanctioning of UN Special Rapporteur of Israeli Violation of Human Rights in Occupied Palestine, Francesca Albanese, is a similar disgraceful attack on an exceptionally brave truth-teller that should be seen as at one with these vicious attacks on Ramy Abdo and Euro-Med.
Voices of global conscience need to accept and act upon the ancient wisdom that when truth prevails, justice is served, human dignity and moral decency upheld. Likewise, when truth is suppressed and evidence of atrocities is filtered or ignored, evil flourishes.
Albanese: ‘I Will Not Resign’
- CrossFireArabia
- February 13, 2026
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese rejected calls for her resignation after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot urged her to step down over her unwavering denunciation of Israel’s alleged war crimes.
She described the criticism as a smear campaign linked to her stance and affirmed that she will continue advocating for Palestinian rights despite mounting pressure.
Albanese: Israel, West Must Pay For Gaza Rebuild
- CrossFireArabia
- December 12, 2025
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories said Friday that Israel should pay for the reconstruction of Gaza together with the US and other main arms provider countries.
Speaking at an event in London on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese noted that there should be a full assessment of complicity over the genocide in Gaza, stressing that not just Israel but all the states aiding genocide should face sanctions.
“States must cut ties with Israel, must stop aiding and assisting a state that maintains an unlawful occupation,” said Albanese.
Touching on the accountability, the special rapporteur said that Israel should pay for the reconstruction of Gaza, together with the US, Germany, and Italy, who are the main weapons providers according to Anadolu.
She went on to say that there should be a robust investigation into the UK’s complicity with this genocide through its services that have been provided from Cyprus bases.
“If Israel do not want to be accused of colonial practices, it should not behave as a colonial power, as a colonial entity, taking land, displacing the people,” she added.
Saying that the two years of genocide in Gaza is “the combination of 60 years of impunity,” she noted that it is not going to stop “unless things change in London or in Rome, or in Berlin, or in Paris.”
‘No robust response against sanctions’
Touching on US sanctions against her, Albanese said that with the sanctions, Albanese herself, International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, or Palestinian human rights groups are “considered like criminals.”
“There has not been robust enough for response, or a robust enough response to this to have the sanctions lifted,” she said.
Saying that since she is banned from traveling to the US, she cannot present her reports to the UN General Assembly, while also adding that she also cannot open a bank account.
UN experts in August warned that US sanctions on Albanese threaten the human rights system, a month after the US announced it imposed sanctions on the special rapporteur for her “efforts to prompt” ICC action against US and Israeli officials.
In August, the US also sanctioned four ICC officials for authorizing the arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
About 250,000 families are currently living in displacement camps across the Gaza Strip, many facing cold weather and flooding inside fragile tents, according to the Civil Defense.
Although a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, living conditions in Gaza have not improved, as Israel continues to impose strict restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, violating the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
Israel has killed more than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023, which have continued despite the truce.
Genocide: What is it With The Germans?
- CrossFireArabia
- October 8, 2025
By Tarek Bae
Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, German media have been accused of pro-Israeli bias. A new investigation shows that one of Germany’s largest outlets, public broadcaster ZDF, systematically silences criticisms on Israel.
ZDF is as close as Germany gets to state TV. It is funded through a mandatory broadcasting fee, enforceable by court, and legally obliged to foster free opinion-forming, reflect social diversity, and remain objective and impartial. The gap between that mandate and reality is stark. Surveys show 73% of Germans believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, while only 13% see Israel’s actions as appropriate. Even ZDF’s own polling found 61% think the government should pressure Israel more strongly. These are the opinions of the majority, the “reasonable realities” ZDF is supposed to reflect — yet its coverage does not reflect them.
Instead, ZDF censors them. Internal sources confirmed that its social media accounts automatically hid comments containing “genocide,” “Volkermord,” “war of exhaustion,” and even “Palestine.” When confronted, ZDF admitted the filters existed, claiming they ensured “netiquette” and protected against “criminal-law concerns.” But repeated test runs showed comments with these terms never appeared, while posts denying or belittling Gaza’s suffering were unaffected. That selective standard shows the problem clearly: potential “criminality” was invoked only when Israel was criticized. Blanket blocking of terms central to describing Israel’s actions suppresses legitimate perspectives and breaches ZDF’s mandate of pluralism.
Criminalizing the debate
The absence extends beyond comment sections. “Not only in the comments but also in ZDF heute’s reporting the term genocide is barely visible,” says journalist Fabian Goldmann. “That’s despite major human rights groups, UN experts, and leading legal scholars repeatedly calling it the most precise term for Israel’s actions.”
Palestinian Ambassador Laith Arafeh calls such blocking “regrettable,” stressing that it suppresses vital debate on horrors the Palestinian population faces. He points out that the International Court of Justice found plausible grounds to investigate Israel for genocide. Political scientist Jules El-Khatib adds that calling the term a netiquette violation is “frankly absurd,” since genocide is a legal definition, not an insult. Goldmann argues ZDF’s rationale fits a wider pattern: instead of naming Israeli war crimes, those who do so are criminalized.
Pressure on staff
Censorship also targets employees. One staff member reports being pressured to delete a private post quoting UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s genocide accusation. ZDF did not respond to questions about the case. The contrast with presenter Andrea Kiewel is striking: she faced no repercussions after wearing on-air a necklace showing a map of “Greater Israel,” symbolically erasing Palestine. Kiewel continues to host Fernsehgarten, one of ZDF’s most prominent shows, broadcasting from her residence in Israel, which she openly describes as “my home.” The asymmetry speaks volumes: criticism of Israel is suppressed, while overt nationalist symbolism in its favor is tolerated.
Another employee alleges ZDF’s editorial independence was compromised by calls from Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor, who demanded sharper pro-Israel coverage. According to this account, ZDF altered the texts afterwards. Again, the broadcaster offered no explanation. Reporters Without Borders has likewise warned of repeated Israeli embassy pressure on German newsrooms through emails, letters, and calls.
Distortion as practice
Despite these concerns, ZDF spokesperson Thomas Hagedorn insists the broadcaster reports “comprehensively, independently and from many perspectives.” But the record shows otherwise.
A telling example is the BILD scandal of November 2024. Germany’s biggest tabloid published what it claimed was a Hamas “war document,” saying it proved ceasefires would only benefit Hamas. Netanyahu cited the article to justify rejecting a ceasefire. The New York Times later revealed the documents were fabricated at Netanyahu’s behest. Yet ZDF repeated the claim that Hamas was waging “psychological warfare” without verifying the source. No correction or apology followed, even after the forgery was exposed. In effect, ZDF had laundered Netanyahu’s talking points into German public discourse.
Broader content analysis reinforces the pattern. By December 2024, Gaza’s death toll was more than 24 times Israel’s, yet ZDF referred to Israelis as “victims” 33% more often. An Itidal review of 500 ZDF pieces (October 2023–December 2024) found the word “barbaric” overwhelmingly applied to attacks on Israel (90.7% of cases) and never to attacks on Gaza. Even in Ukraine coverage, the term appeared in just 4.6% of cases. This vocabulary echoed government messaging: Netanyahu called the Oct. 7 Hamas attack “barbaric,” a framing ZDF and other outlets quickly adopted.
Political entanglement
ZDF’s structure amplifies the concern. A study by the Otto Brenner Foundation found 62% of its Television Council members belong to political parties, despite a Constitutional Court ruling limiting party representation to one-third.
Public broadcasters already average an excessive 41%, ZDF surpasses even that, making it the German broadcaster closest to “state media.”
This entanglement shapes coverage. ZDF has labeled the slogan “Freedom for Palestine” antisemitic. Right-wing commentator Ninve Ermagan used ZDF to stigmatize protests against Gaza’s genocide as a “radicalized pro-Palestine scene.” Government positions criticized by experts as repressive are given prominence, while dissenting voices struggle to appear. In effect, ZDF often functions as a keyword provider for Israeli hardline circles or as an extension of government messaging.
El-Khatib observes: “In Germany, free speech is too often constricted when Israel is the subject. The idea of banning ‘Free Palestine’ was abandoned as absurd, yet suppression persists in other forms. The term ‘genocide’ is still treated as a combat word, even as human rights groups, legal scholars, and most of the German public consider it accurate.”
Restoring trust
A public broadcaster should broaden democratic language, not narrow it. Restoring trust requires dismantling word filters, disclosing external pressures, protecting staff from censorship, and correcting the record when disinformation has been amplified. Anything less is not a moderation glitch. It is a failure of duty.
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu’s editorial policy.
