A B’nai B’rith International leadership delegation led by President Robert Spitzer and CEO Daniel Mariaschin met with over 60 ambassadors and other senior diplomats in Geneva and Paris to advocate on Jewish communal priorities: supporting Israel’s right to security and self-defense and the rights of the Jewish people to live in safety and freedom in the face of an ongoing, alarming spike in anti-Semitism in countries across the world.

The meetings took place on the sidelines of the current session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and immediately preceding the next session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) executive board. Palestinians and other hostile actors have for years exploited these two U.N. bodies in particular to launch political attacks against Israel. In Geneva, the issue is not just confined to the UNHRC itself, but to biased “investigative” mandates given to individuals who have openly engaged in anti-Semitism, such as Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Albanese is up for a three-year renewal of her mandate in this session, and we strongly urge the council to reject her reappointment.

In the meetings, B’nai B’rith urged recognition of Israel’s ongoing duty of self-defense—and the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli hostages now held in horrific conditions by Hamas and other terrorists in the Gaza Strip for more than 500 days. While in Geneva, B’nai B’rith also met with leaders of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the organization’s headquarters to discuss the ongoing plight of the hostages.

The B’nai B’rith delegation was comprised of over two dozen leaders from eight countries. Delegates met with ranking representatives across five continents.

Separately, B’nai B’rith, a U.N.-accredited organization, delivered official statements at the UNHRC—which routinely condemns Israel more than all other countries and singles out the Middle East’s sole democracy alone for scrutiny under Item 7, a permanent agenda item. The interventions included one from Cochav Elkayam-Levy of Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, condemning the U.N. for exploiting Israeli victims of Hamas to create a false moral equivalency, and the other by B’nai B’rith U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs Director David Michaels highlighting the council’s silence on the true cause of instability in the region—Hamas and its sponsors in Iran.

Distinguished by a dedicated Office of United Nations Affairs and on-the-ground representation at U.N. hubs worldwide, B’nai B’rith has led Jewish communal engagement with the world body since its founding in 1945.