JERUSALEM (RNS) — Two pro-Israel evangelical Christian organizations are suing the United Nations’ human rights monitor for Palestinian affairs, saying she defamed them by “knowingly spreading malicious lies” about the nonprofits and accusing them of contributing to a wide range of alleged crimes by Israel in its war against Hamas.
The nonprofits — Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel — filed the joint lawsuit in federal court in Colorado, where CFIC is based, on Monday (Sept. 8) in response to what they called “threatening letters” sent to the two nongovernmental organizations by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, in April. Many other nonprofit organizations and corporations received similar letters, alleging that their ties to Israel are enabling illegal activity and punishable by law.
Those accusations have sullied the organizations’ reputations, the NGOs’ leaders told RNS, and harmed fundraising efforts, in addition to subjecting them to abuse from pro-Palestinian activists.
Willem Griffioen, chairman of Christians for Israel International and Christians for Israel USA, said, “They have put a target on our organization, our leaders and our donors,” particularly churches that support the nonprofit. He called any claims that Christians for Israel is engaging in illegal activity “utterly baseless and ridiculous.”
Willem Griffioen. (Courtesy photo)
Albanese accused Christian …