Wednesday 18th of February 2026
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the goal is to silence francesca albanese.....

 

The vicious and sustained campaign mounted against Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, by Israel and the U.S. now includes the German, Italian, French, Austrian and Czech foreign ministers demanding her resignation.

 

The Increasing Attacks on Francesca Albanese Presage a New Dark Age

BY CHRIS HEDGES

 

This campaign is part of an effort by industrial nations to at once sustain the genocide in Gaza — nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the sham ceasefire took effect — and silence all those who demand the international community abide by the rule of law.

The latest assault on Francesca, part of a concerted effort to discredit international bodies such as the U.N., is based on a deliberately truncated video of a talk Francesca gave in Doha on February 7 that distorts and misconstrues her words. But truth, of course, is irrelevant. The goal is to silence her and all who stand up for Palestinian rights.

Francesca was placed by the Trump administration on the Office of Foreign Assets Control list of the U.S. Treasury Department — normally used to sanction those accused of money laundering or being involved with terrorist organizations — six days after the release of her report, “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide,” which documented the global corporations that make billions of dollars from the genocide in Gaza and occupation of Palestinians.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control list — weaponized by the Trump administration to persecute Francesca and in violation of the diplomatic immunity granted to U.N. officials — bans her from entering the U.S. It prohibits any financial institution from having her as a client. A bank that engages in financial transactions with Francesca is banned from operating in dollars, faces multimillion-dollar fines and is blocked from international payment systems. This has cut her off from global banking, leaving her unable to use credit cards or book a hotel in her name. Her assets in the U.S. are frozen. It has seen her medical insurance refuse to reimburse her for medical expenses. It has resulted in institutions, including U.S. universities, human rights groups and NGOs that once collaborated with her severing ties, fearing onerous U.S. penalties. The sanctions followed those imposed in February and June of last year on The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Karim Khan along with two judges for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

By making Francesca, who receives frequent death threats, the lightening rod, these governments seek to deflect attention from the ongoing slaughter and humanitarian disaster in Gaza. They seek to mask Israel’s system of apartheid and unlawful occupation of historic Palestine. They seek to hide, most of all, their complicity with their continuing weapons shipments that fuel Israel’s genocide.

The pace of the genocide has slowed, but it has not stopped. Israel has seized 60 percent of Gaza and blocks most humanitarian aid, including fuel, food and medicine. At the same time, Israel is accelerating its seizure of the occupied West Bank, where more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes since October 2023.

The campaign against Francesca presages a terrifying world where Western industrial nations exploit and prey upon the weak, where the law is whatever powerful nations say it is, where those who dare to speak the truth and stand up for the rule of law are relentlessly persecuted, where genocide is another tool in the arsenal to crush the aspirations and rights of the vulnerable. This is a fight we must win. If we lose, if we let voices like Francesca’s be silenced, we will usher in an age of blood and terror.

The Chris Hedges Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-increasing-attacks-on-francesca

 

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlthbxpCj_M

unreal estates....

The Australian Jewish Association is promoting an Israeli real estate scheme selling stolen Palestinian land to Australian investors. Joshua Barnett and Stephanie Tran investigate.

Hard-right Zionist lobby group, the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), is promoting an Israeli real estate scheme with its ‘partners’, Noam Homes and Selling Israel, selling land in the the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank.

The AJA has declined to respond to questions put last week by MWM. It is understood

corporate regulator ASIC is inquiring into the scheme.

There is no evidence from the marketing materials that the operators of the scheme have proper authorisation in Australia: either a licence to provide financial advice or a licence to sell property – let alone property deemed illegal under international law.

The events in Sydney and Melbourne have been promoted as a ‘gateway to investing in Israeli real estate”, with a sales pipeline run through Noam Homes, the Jerusalem-based agency linked to the brand. Selling Israel, which markets property in West Bank settlements such as Gush Etzion, Ma’ale Adumim and Efrat.

Under international law, these are illegal settlements.

The marketing material does not make any mention of the promoter(s) having an Australian Financial Services License, and also raises questions about discrimination. The scheme markets to Australian Jews but does not expressly disclose whether non-Jews are entitled to invest.

The promotional material lists three named partners for the events: the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), Noam Homes and Selling Israel. AJA told followers on Instagram it was “partnering” on the Sydney event and directed bookings through a link to the Noam Homes website.

Noam Vasl is the CEO of Noam Homes and Selling Israel. Vasl is described as a “trusted advisor for both foreign investors and individuals making Aliyah (“ascent”, meaning immigration for the chosen ones) to Israel”. Vasl is also the founder and CEO of Sydney Israel Ltd, a Noam Homes subsidiary founded in 2018.

The event also appeared online under multiple web addresses, including israelevent2025.com, sellingisrael.com and noamhomes.com.

Homes in illegal settlements

On its website, Noam Homes publicly markets property in multiple Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat and the Gush Etzion bloc, Mitzpe Yericho, Giv’at Ze’ev and Har Adar.

The United Nations deems Israeli settlements in territory occupied since 1967 as illegal under international law, a position reaffirmed in UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which states such settlements have “no legal validity.” Since October 7 2023, the rate of settlements has been increasing dramatically.

Australian Jewish Association (AJA)

We asked AJA to explain what “partnering” means in practice; whether any payment, referral fee, sponsorship revenue or other benefit is involved, and what due diligence it conducted, given Noam Homes markets property in West Bank settlements, including Ma’ale Adumim and Efrat.

We also asked whether AJA or any entity involved in promoting the scheme holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL). AJA did not respond.

Questions were also put to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC), asking what charity governance rules apply when a registered not for profit (NFP) promoted, or “partnered” on, events encouraging people to invest in overseas real estate, and whether that risked non-incidental private benefit or conflicts of interest if referral fees or sponsorship were involved.

In its initial response, an ACNC spokesperson said the regulator could not identify the named entity on the charity register and asked us to provide an ABN if we wanted the matter examined further.

ACNC said charities must comply with the ACNC Governance Standards and, if operating overseas, the External Conduct Standards. We subsequently provided AJA’s details and ABN. An ACNC response will be published in due course.

Noam Homes

Noam Homes markets itself as a one-stop shop for rentals, sales, and “investment properties”. It operates alongside the ‘Selling Israel’ brand, with both tied to agent and CEO Noam Vasl.

The firm’s own website maintains location pages and active listings in West Bank settlements, including Ma’ale Adumim, which it describes as “an urban Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank”, plus Mitzpe Yericho, Efrat and the Gush Etzion bloc, and Giv’at Ze’ev.

On LinkedIn, Noam Homes says it was founded in 2013 and has offices in Jerusalem and Efrat.

We have not been able to independently confirm specific prior transactions, but the company’s published marketing makes clear it has long promoted property and new projects in settlement locations, including material aimed at foreign buyers and overseas tour-style sales pushes.

Gush Etzion

Gush Etzion is a bloc of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, south of Jerusalem, and it includes the settlement of Efrat.  Israeli settlements in territory occupied since 1967 are regarded by the United Nations as having no legal validity, a position reaffirmed in UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

Noam Homes markets property in the bloc through a dedicated page titled “Properties for Sale in Efrat and Gush Etzion”, saying it specialises in helping buyers find homes there, and advertising Efrat projects and listings within the Gush Etzion locality. Those listings include homes in Efrat neighbourhoods such as Zayit, and a private home listing in Dagan Efrat, both promoted through Noam Homes’ website.

Illegal or discriminatory?

There is no Australian law which precludes the sale of properties in illegal settlements, but Australian promotion of land deals still raises legal questions, especially if marketing blurs where the land is, what jurisdiction governs it, and who gets access.

Section 12 of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to refuse to dispose of an estate or interest in land because of race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.  NSW’s anti-discrimination framework also recognises “ethno-religious origin” in its race discrimination guidance, a point that can become relevant when events are framed around community membership. 

Australian Consumer Law prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct, and specifically prohibits false or misleading representations about the sale of land, including representations about the location of land.

Finally, an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) is required for the promotion of real estate investments. Noam Homes is not listed in the AFSL register.

None of this proves a breach has occurred. It does, however, underline why the “Israel real estate” branding can matter when some of the marketed locations are, on the sellers’ own material, in the West Bank.

https://michaelwest.com.au/israel-lobby-sells-stolen-palestinian-land-to-australian-investors/

 

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.