The Obama administration slammed U.N. special rapporteur Richard Falk’s call for a boycott of private companies that are profiting from the Israeli settlement enterprise.

Susan E. Rice, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, in a statement Friday called Falk’s boycott call “irresponsible and unacceptable.”

Falk called for the boycott in a report Oct. 25 to the U.N. General Assembly. “My main recommendation is that the businesses highlighted in the report – as well as the many other businesses that are profiting from the Israeli settlement enterprise – should be boycotted until they bring their operations into line with international human rights and humanitarian law and standards,” Falk said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The report highlighted the activities of companies that he said are involved in the establishment and maintenance of Israeli settlements.

Among the firms named were U.S. companies Caterpillar Inc., Hewlett Packard and Motorola and Israeli companies Ahava, Elbit Systems and Mehadrin. The report also cited the Volvo Group and Assa Abloy of Sweden and Veolia Environment of France.

“Mr. Falk’s recommendations do nothing to further a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and indeed poison the environment for peace,” said Rice in her statement. “His continued service in the role of a UN Special Rapporteur is deeply regrettable and only damages the credibility of the UN.”

The statement also said that “throughout his tenure as Special Rapporteur, the Mr. Falk has been highly biased and made offensive statements, including outrageous comments on the 9/11 attacks.”

In 2011, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon publicly criticized Falk’s statements in a blog posting in which the special rapporteur proposed consideration of theories that the United States had orchestrated the 9/11 terror attacks.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount