Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Richard Falk Blasted by American Jewish Committee for Linking Bombing, Israel

The American Jewish Committee denounced Richard Falk, a UN official, for what it claims is his assertion in an online essay that U.S. and Israeli policies were responsible for the Boston Marathon terrorist bombings. UN Watch first reported on Falk’s comments.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice expressed her disapproval as well on twitter: “Outraged by Richard Falk’s highly offensive Boston comments. Someone who spews such vitriol has no place at the UN. Past time for him to go.”

Falk, a special rapporteur with the UN Human Rights Council, was reprimanded two years ago by UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon for promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories, alleging that the U.S. had a role.

“Here he goes again,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “Given his public record, the question is why Richard Falk still occupies a UN position. Is there no shame?”

In his essay, “A Commentary on the Marathon Murders,” published on April 21 in Foreign Policy Journal, Falk warned that “the United States has been fortunate not to experience worse blowbacks, and these may yet happen, especially if there is no disposition to rethink U.S. relations to others in the world, starting with the Middle East.”

Falk also warned that “[A]s long as Tel Aviv has the compliant ear of the American political establishment, those who wish for peace and justice in the world should not rest easy.”

“Falk’s unhinged diatribes against the U.S. and Israel are well-known,” Harris added. “He should have been barred, five years ago, from being appointed the Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the Palestinians, but this reveals precisely what is wrong with the UN system.”

“Falk’s latest commentary demonstrates his total insensitivity to the victims of the terror attacks in Boston,” Harris continued. “His malicious propaganda regarding the U.S. and Israel – and his glaring inability to see the stark truth about extremist violence and terrorism – has no place in any international body that takes itself and its mission seriously.”

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

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

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.