A United Nations official was duped by an invitation and honorarium offer from the satirical “Chief Rabbi of Gaza” to speak to anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University about the “Morality of Intifada.”
The parody X account “Rabbi Linda Goldstein,” known for using progressive anti-Israel talking points to mock them, emailed an invitation to Francesca Albanese, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.
“On behalf of the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University, we wish to invite Special Rapporteur Albanese to deliver a keynote address at her convenience to the thousands of students gathered at the camp,” Goldstein wrote. “Many anti-Zionist Jews like myself have taken a leading role, and we would be honored to have you. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Email correspondences shared with The Daily Wire indicate that Albanese was willing to participate. Albanese’s research assistant, Eleonora De Martin, responded to the inquiry, asking for more details on the topic and the length. “In full solidarity with what you are doing, Ms Albanese would like to know some more details on her intervention,” De Martin replied.
Francesca Albanese, the embattled UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories was duped by a satirical X account.
Albanese is an outspoken critic of Israel who was barred from Israel in February after she contended that French President Emanuel Macron was wrong for labeling the October 7 terrorist attack the “biggest anti-Semitic massacre of our century.” She instead said the attack was “launched as a way to break the occupation against apartheid.”
In February, Albanese spoke to Harvard University students that Israel did not have a right to defend itself from Hamas terrorists who were raping, murdering, and burning homes and people.
“It didn’t have the right to act in self-defense, meaning waging a war because it couldn’t wage a war against the people it maintains under occupation,” she said. “What Israel had to do was to repel the attack on its own territory, arrest and detain and treat humanely the people who had been arrested and ensure justice.”
Her assistant maintained interest, even after being told it was a speech defending “intifada.”
“[W]e want to hear about the ‘Morality of the Intifada,’ which Zionists have co-opted and turned into a dirty word,” Goldstein wrote. “There is also a small honorarium available.”
De Martin responded days later, asking if Albanese could speak on May 7. “If I understood correctly, you would like Ms Albanese to deliver a keynote speech of around 15/20 minutes to the students,” De Martin said. Regarding the honorarium, De Martin said Albanese could not accept only officially but asked for it to be transferred to the “fellowship of her volunteer.”
“Moreover, concerning the honorarium, she cannot take honorarium for anything she does in her official capacity,” De Martin wrote. “However, she kindly asks for this honorarium to be transferred to the Fellowship of her volunteer which supports her mandate work. Could you please provide some detail on the sum of the honorarium? The research institute will then send you the invoice for payment.”
Sara Troian, another research assistant for Albanese, told the Daily Wire that the special rapporteur “never agreed to Linda Goldstein’s request,” even though emails show her team asked for a Zoom link. She added that she wanted the honorarium to be sent to her university to fund her work.
“Regarding the honorarium, there seems to be some confusion: it was me proposing that it would be sent to my University for the purpose to fund my fellowship,” Troian wrote. “The Erasmus University of Rotterdam, which hosts me as a Research Fellow, collects funds from individual donors with the only purpose of accompanying the Special Rapporteur in her country-missions. My work of support to the Special Rapporteur’s mandate is fully voluntary and I do not get paid for it.”
Rabbi Linda Goldstein is a satirical account that uses anti-Israel talking points to mock progressives.
De Martin stopped replying after Goldstein asked if the honorarium could be donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) instead.
“Is it okay if it’s donated to UNRWA in her honor instead?” Goldstein wrote. “Since I was displaced from Gaza as Chief Rabbi after October 7 it’s near and dear to us.”
Troin said Albanese’s team did not respond to the last message because they realized Goldstein “was not a reliable account.”
“We simply did not respond because of the nature of the request and because we had expressly been told by the Special Rapporteur, when we had the chance to fully brief her, that a) she would not receive any donation for any cause; and b) she would not speak at student rallies unless requested by Special Rapporteurs who are engaging with students,” Troin wrote. “The reason why there has been no further correspondence is because we blocked Linda Goldstein’s account following the discovery that it was not a reliable account.”
Francesca Albanese’s staff asked to speak to the Columbia University encampment on the seven-month anniversary of the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians.
Goldstein, a fictional rabbi, makes jokes about the anti-Israel movement and progressives several times a day on X including mocking fundraising campaigns by encampments, boycotts of Israel, and LGBT support for Gaza.
The character told The Daily Wire that she was disappointed that Albanese backed out of the speaking engagement.
“Francesca Albanese claims to care about the plight of Palestinians, but it’s clear she was just chasing an honorarium that was no longer available once Columbia’s Gaza Encampment was broken up,” Goldstein said. “As the most prominent supporter of Palestine in the world, I thought she would care to amplify the voices of students protesting for a Free Palestine.”
“I want her to teach the world that Intifadas can at times be peaceful,” Goldstein said. “Globalizing the intifada will make Zionists uncomfortable everywhere, not just in occupied Palestine.”
Has anyone figured out how to boycott Israel but still get to use a cell phone?
— Rabbi Linda Goldstein (🇵🇸🍉I/P Commentary) (@realrabbilinda) May 6, 2024
I’m tired of seeing Zionists tell the @UCLA Queers for Palestine protesters they’d be thrown off a roof in Gaza.
Israel isn’t the most LGBT friendly country in the Middle East. Don’t forget there was a country called “Transjordan”.
— Rabbi Linda Goldstein (🇵🇸🍉I/P Commentary) (@realrabbilinda) May 2, 2024