Critics slam UN for new anti-Israel committee positions during budget cuts
The United Nations has come under fire for rewarding a controversial anti-Israel Commission of Inquiry with four new high-paying positions, totaling up to three-quarters of a million dollars. Critics have slammed the U.N. for its extravagant spending on an entity that has been accused of spreading antisemitism.
Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, and president of Human Rights Voices, expressed her outrage at the U.N.’s decision. She criticized the U.N. for its lack of financial restraint when it comes to promoting anti-Israel sentiments. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem (COI), led by South African Navi Pillay, announced the creation of four new job openings in Geneva, with salaries ranging from $530,000 to $704,000.
Bayefsky raised concerns about the COI’s latest report, which she described as “totally unhinged.” The report allegedly compares Israelis to Nazis, denies biblical history, and fuels antisemitism by making inflammatory claims about Jews defiling Muslim holy sites. Pillay and the COI have faced criticism in the past for their anti-Israel bias, with accusations that they unfairly target Israel while ignoring human rights abuses in other countries.
In response to the U.N.’s decision to reward the COI with new positions, Congress passed a budget bill in March that eliminated funding for the COI and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The U.N. Human Rights Council is currently facing a liquidity crisis, with inadequate resources to complete mandated reports and studies.
Despite the financial challenges facing the U.N., the COI has received additional personnel, sparking outrage among critics. Bayefsky called on the U.S. government to withhold the U.N. budget until the anti-Israel bias is addressed and to deny visas to COI members planning to visit the United States.
The Trump administration had previously proposed eliminating all expenditures to the U.N. and international organizations. A senior State Department official indicated that any decisions regarding U.N. funding would come from the President or the administration. The U.S. remains the largest contributor to the U.N., providing $18.1 billion in funding in 2022.
The U.N.’s decision to reward the COI with lucrative positions has reignited the debate over the organization’s financial practices and anti-Israel bias. Critics are calling for greater accountability and transparency in U.N. spending, particularly when it comes to issues related to Israel and the Middle East.
