Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is appalled by the release of an anti-Israel blacklist by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that reveals the names of more than 100 companies with ties to disputed territories, 94 of which are based in Israel.

Israel, the only democratic state in the Middle East, is the only country known to be subjected to a blacklist and remains the most targeted nation at the United Nations. Since its creation in 2006, the UN Human Rights Council has passed dozens of resolutions against the Jewish State – more than any other nation, including non-democracies – with reportedly more than 50 per cent of total resolutions passed in its first 10 years targeting Israel.

"Does the UN human rights office boycott any other countries or businesses? The release of this blacklist targeting Israel and its businesses is an example of the pure antisemitism and anti-Israel bias that exists at the UN, similar to the targeted boycott of Jewish shops by the Nazis prior to the Holocaust," said FSWC president and CEO Avi Benlolo. "This is a clear endorsement of the antisemitic boycott of Jewish businesses and other businesses that have connections to Jewish communities, all while ignoring the many human rights violations committed by other countries."  

The report was in response to a request by the UN Human Rights Council in a 2016 resolution – sponsored by non-democratic countries with questionable human rights records such as Kuwait, Pakistan, Sudan, Venezuela and Cuba – that mandated the Office to produce such a database.

FSWC is writing to Canadian government officials – including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne and UN Ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard – calling for the launch of a formal protest and a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

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Click here to read letter to Prime Minister Trudeau