A high level response to HonestReporting’s expose of the UN connection to Khulood Badawi’s false photo tweet. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, called for Khulood Badawi’s dismissal.
The Jerusalem Post writes:
Prosor, in his letter to Valerie Amos, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, expressed “outrage” at Badawi’s conduct, saying that even though her tweet was blatantly false, it became the top tweet the day it was posted for anything relating to Gaza.
“We have before us an OCHA information officer who was directly engaged in spreading misinformation,” Prosor wrote.
“When the conduct of an OCHA employee so grossly deviates from the organization’s responsibility to remain impartial, the integrity of the entire organization is eroded.
The credibility of OCHA is already seriously in doubt among the Israeli public. This is why immediate action in this case is necessary.”
Prosor said that not only did Badawi’s actions violate conduct expected of a UN official, but that she “actively engaged in the demonization of Israel, a member state of the United Nations. Such actions contribute to incitement, conflict and, ultimately, violence.”
Prosor not only called for her firing, but also for an OCHA statement disassociating itself from her Twitter comments.
But if one OCHA official’s tepid response to AP is indicative of the agency’s view on the affair, don’t hold your breath waiting for real accountability:
. . . Badawi’s page, “Long live Palestine,” is her personal site. It was not tied to the U.N., said Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the office where Badawi works.
“It is regrettable that a U.N. staff member appears to have posted inaccurate material on her personal Twitter feed,” Rajasingham said. “However, this information does not in any way reflect the views or opinions of the United Nations, nor it has been sanctioned by the organization.”
While Badawi maintains radio silence, I liked how Marcus Sheff summed up the seriousness of her tweet:
There are some wonderful folk at OCHA – there are even a couple of staffers, for whom I have nothing but respect, whose job it is to deconstruct the complexities of Israeli society for the powers-that-be on the hill at Armon Hanatziv, where OCHA is based.
But it is inconceivable that in 2012, a UN staffer can feel empowered to wallow in the filth of an anti-Semitic blood libel.
Whether you are working for a news agency, as a stringer for an American newspaper or putting out information to the press on behalf of the UN about Israel and the Palestinian Authority, you have a fundamental ethical obligation to tell the truth – to deal honestly and fairly with the facts.
Badawi has to go. Sign HonestReporting’s petition calling on OCHA to dismiss Badawi.
(Image of Prosor via UN/Paulo Filgueiras, Badawi via YouTube/aicvideo)
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