UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese Apologizes for Holocaust Remarks
UN official Francesca Albanese apologized after mistakenly claiming Nazi camp inmates called Jews 'Muslims' and misinterpreting the historical origin of the term antisemitism.
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has apologized after falsely claiming that Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were referred to as "Muslims." Albanese admitted she misinterpretd the term "Mussulman," which was actually used in camps to describe inmates on the verge of death due to starvation and exhaustion.
In a recent podcast discussing the origins of antisemitism, Albanese claimed the term originally referred to anyone from the Middle East. She also cited camp testimonies to falsely suggest Jews were called Muslims. Her remarks drew immediate condemnation from UN Watch CEO Hillel Neuer, who accused her of rewriting history and distorting the Holocaust.
Responding to the Jewish Chronicle, Albanese stated: "The term antisemitism was coined in the 19th century to specifically denote Jew-hatred. I misread the term 'Mussulman' [...] as referring to Muslims, and mistakenly deduced that antisemitism originally meant hatred toward all Semitic peoples."
Albanese issued a sincere apology to anyone offended or misled by her remarks, acknowledging that six million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust because of their Jewish identity.
