Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, spoke at a filled Robertson Auditorium as part of the Dean’s Leadership series organized by the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) on Oct. 29.
The conversation was facilitated by Professor of SPIA Razia Iqbal. Albanese began the talk by discussing a report she published in March, which labeled Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide.” During the talk, she highlighted “the wholesale destruction of Gaza” and “the violence that Israel is unleashing against the Palestinians.”
“The Palestinians [have lived] for 57 years under military rule without civil rights,” Albanese said. “Who would like to live like that? The Palestinians have opposed this system, sometimes peacefully, sometimes violently.”
Albanese’s invitation to speak at the University drew criticism from some students and community members. Within the last week, calls began to build from pro-Israel groups to condemn Albanese, accusing her of antisemitism. On Monday, a member of Congress redacted her invitation to speak to a group of congressional staffers.
About two dozen people attended a protest organized by the student organization Tigers for Israel (TFI) at the fountain outside of the SPIA building.
“We’re coming out here today to say clearly and without equivocation that Francesca Albanese is not welcome on our campus at Princeton,” Maximillian Meyer ’27, the president of TFI, said at the rally. “The double standard applied to the ancient bigotry of antisemitism is not lost on any of us, and so we must fight back.”
Meyer drew his allegations from recent reporting by pro-Israel groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, accusing Albanese of antisemitism.
Meyer also spearheaded a contentious exchange during the question and answer portion of the event. In his question, Meyer cited examples such as a tweet Albanese made comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler.
“How dare you compare Jews to our oppressors, dismiss the antisemitic hatred that fuels violence against us, and deny us, unlike any other oppressed group, the right to define the parameters of our own oppression?” he asked Albanese.
Albanese attempted to refute the reports before turning to the offensive. She pushed back by saying, “you have to stop living in the minds of the people, because the level of paranoia is unthinkable. Why are you speaking on behalf of all the Jews?” Her last remark prompted applause from the audience.
“[The Palestinians] have been kept in a cage, in a ghetto, and many of them have had their homes destroyed and their families killed,” Albanese continued in response to Meyer. “The fact that you don’t want to see the pain of the other party, the trauma of the party, doesn’t speak to my alleged antisemitism.”
When asked by Iqbal on her thoughts on accusations that Albanese was being antisemitic, Albanese responded, “Israel has a track record as a serial violator of Israeli law. It has nothing to do with the Jewish people … [nor] the Israeli people.”
According to Albanese, the definition of antisemitism has shifted in recent years.
“Antisemitism is disgusting,” commented Albanese. “However, in recent years, antisemitism has been used as a weapon against any critical voice against Israeli practices.”
“Jewish people have profound love for Israel, and I respect it, but I do not respect governments who do not abide by international law,” Albanese continued. “No one here is calling for the destruction of the Israeli state. [I am] only asking for Israel to be aligned with international law and human rights and not practice apartheid.”
Notably, Albanese acknowledged the history of antisemitism and relationship to the creation of Israel, yet stressed the importance of the Israeli state discontinuing its war.
“Back then, colonialism was accepted. It was kosher, and so no one would really be uncomfortable with it,” Albanese said. “It is true that Jewish people were oppressed for centuries … no one can judge what was done in the last century, 80 years ago. [But] how can we correct injustice by making another injustice?”
The talk with Albanese was punctuated with several outbursts from members of the audience. A group of pro-Israel protesters exclaimed, “Don’t f---ng clap” in response to applause when Albanese characterized the Israeli state’s actions in the Gaza Strip as “acts of genocide.”
At one point, several protesters left the room, with one of them yelling, “You liar. You can’t listen to this crap. We’re leaving.” They were met with hushing from some students holding signs reading “#EndJewhatred” and saying Albanese supported “terrorism and genocide.”
The talk with Albanese concluded with a final question from Dean of SPIA Amaney Jamal, who is Palestinian and grew up in the West Bank.
“At the end of the day, the Israelis are going to have to contend with the Palestinians, and the Palestinians are going to have to contend with the Israelis if we’re going to talk about the two-state solution,” Jamal said. “How do we get there? How do we emerge from this moment where we can keep that as a goal?”
In response, Albanese said, “I don’t think that there will be any way to move forward without the Israelis coming to terms with that [they] cannot live while mistreating Palestinians, that there is no way that the Palestinians will leave their land.”
Salam Fayyad, the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and a SPIA professor, told The Daily Princetonian after the event, “I was really impressed by the fact that it went very well [and] peacefully, rarely without significant disruption.”
Udi Ofer, a professor of SPIA, wrote to the ‘Prince’ that he was “grateful for the ability to hear her views and especially appreciated those moments from her talk and afterwards when she engaged directly in dialogue with students and community members who disagreed with her.”
Fayyad declined to comment on the content of Albanese’s talk, but added that he was “focused on the fact that these conversations can take place and that more of them should take place on campus.”
“The more students are exposed to this, the more they practice actually being around when they hear things they like and when they hear things they don’t like,” Fayyad continued. “I think this really says a lot, and I’m very pleased with it.”
Eojin Park is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Associate News editor Miriam Waldvogel contributed reporting.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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