Albanese calls for probe into Western coverage of Amsterdam clashes
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Francesca Albanese argues that Western media's misreporting serves to "conceal" ongoing human rights abuses by Israelis around the world.
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UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese at a press conference during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on March 27, 2024. (AFP)
A top United Nations human rights official has called for an investigation into Western media's reporting on recent violent clashes in Amsterdam, where Israeli fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football team engaged in confrontational behavior with local residents.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Palestinians, accused Western media of "obscuring" events and disseminating disinformation, which she says has downplayed or ignored provocations by the Israelis.
Albanese's statement followed a series of clashes that erupted last Thursday and Friday in Amsterdam's city center and around the Johan Cruyff Arena, where Maccabi Tel Aviv faced Dutch football club Ajax in a UEFA match.
Viral videos showed fans tearing down Palestinian flags from residents' homes and chanting anti-Arab slurs. Clashes broke out as Dutch locals protested these actions, leading to heightened tensions that required police intervention.
Call for investigation
In a post on social media platform X, Albanese criticized Western media's framing of the confrontations, stating that certain outlets inaccurately portrayed the events as anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli fans.
"Once again, Western media should be investigated for the role they are playing in obscuring Israel's atrocities," Albanese said, arguing that such misreporting serves to "conceal" ongoing human rights abuses by Israelis around the world.
Europe, as well as the rest of the West, must interrogate the pervasive antiArabism and Islamophobia across their societies. Antisemitism is rooted in the same distorted view of humanity, and so is Anti-Palestinian Racism. https://t.co/O4m6J5wSYs
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) November 10, 2024
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She drew comparisons to previous cases in international law, where media figures were held accountable for complicity in incitement and other international crimes.
Albanese, who has an extensive background in human rights law and Arab refugee issues, emphasized that media agencies bear responsibility for presenting accurate and unbiased information to avoid perpetuating disinformation.
Following the clashes, reports indicate that "Israel" took rapid action to fly several hundred Israeli nationals back to "Tel Aviv."
Calls to bar 'Israel' from FIFA
The incident has brought renewed attention to the intersection of sports and politics, especially following recent calls from human rights organizations to bar Israeli participation in global sports events.
These advocacy groups argue that "Israel" should face restrictions due to human rights violations against Palestinians, citing recent rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and widespread calls for accountability for the genocide in Gaza.
According to Palestinian officials, over 43,500 Palestinian civilians, including athletes, have been killed since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.
"Western governments' support for the Israeli war machine and indifference to human life is the source of the Zionists' continued impunity," Albanese told reporters, echoing sentiments that have fueled international calls for a reevaluation of how the war on Palestinians is covered in the global media landscape.
Read more: Factions hail crowds' response to Israeli provocations in Amsterdam
