Parody rabbi X account tricked UN Rapporteur Albanese on invite to speak on 'morality of infada'

A known parody X account by the name of "Rabbi Linda Goldstein," who is described in her bio as the "Chief Rabbi of Gaza," invited Francesca Albanese, to speak on the "morality of intifada" at Columbia University at Goldstein's invitation - with a "small "honorarium available."

Albanese serves in the role of the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories. Goldstein said on X that the UN official initially agreed to speak on campus "but when the encampments were broken up and the honorarium dried up, she backed out."

Like Albanese, Goldstein has fooled in the past UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma and US Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman. It should be mentioned that there actually is no such position as the "Chief Rabbi of Gaza," as there are currently no Jews in the enclave apart from the hostages that are still held captive by Hamas. The lack of presence of Jews is due to Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005.

Now the Zionist media is dumping on me for accidentally kicking off an ethics violation of UN Special Rapporteur @FranceskAlbs https://t.co/majcnd2XaV

— Rabbi Linda Goldstein (I/P Commentary) (@realrabbilinda) May 9, 2024

Albanese was hence tricked by Goldstein's invitation, and the conservative media outlet The Daily Wire obtained email correspondences where Albanese was open to delivering an address on Columbia's campus. According to The Wire and the screenshots of emails it shared, Albanese’s research assistant responded to Goldstein's inquiry, saying that the UN official "would like to know some more details on her intervention," to which then Goldstein responded that Columbia's students would want to hear about the "morality of intifada" from Albanese.

Intifada, which refers to the two that Israel had that killed many Israeli civilians, is a word that Goldstein ironically writes in the email that "Zionists have co-opted it and turned it into a dirty word."

The Wire describes Goldstein to be a fictional rabbi "known for using progressive anti-Israel talking points to mock them."

Albanese's assistant, Eleonora De Martin, said that Albanese could not give a talk and that the honorarium but that it be "transferred to the Fellowship of her volunteer which supports her mandate work." De Martin stopped responding, according to The Wire, after Goldstein asked if the honorarium could be transferred to UNRWA, as Goldstein humorously claims that she was "displaced from Gaza as Chief Rabbi after October 7."

Albanese has a history of being critical of Israel, which resulted her being barred from the state after pushing back that Hamas's October 7 massacre wasn't influenced by antisemitism but "launched as a way to break the occupation against apartheid.” 

“I want her to teach the world that Intifadas can at times be peaceful,” Goldstein said. “Globalizing the intifada will make Zionists uncomfortable everywhere, not just in occupied Palestine.”

Other satirical jokes

The parody account also made other satirical jokes, such as claiming she's a sex worker in the enclave and made posts that users would consider to be ironically praising the Jewish state. She tweeted on Wednesday: "Israel isn’t the most LGBT-friendly country in the Middle East. Don’t forget there was a country called “Transjordan.”

She also wrote, directly targeting the UN official, saying "please consider making a small donation to her favorite charity, 'FIDF,', also known as “F*** the IDF”, in @FranceskAlbs’s honor. I know Francesca will really appreciate it."

The following Thursday, Albanese blocked Goldstein on X, with the parody account posting "Ok now @FranceskAlbs finally blocked me. Even though her assistant claims 'The reason why there has been no further correspondence is because we blocked Linda Goldstein’s account following the discovery that it was not a reliable account.'”

Ok now @FranceskAlbs finally blocked me. Even though her assistant claims “The reason why there has been no further correspondence is because we blocked Linda Goldstein’s account following the discovery that it was not a reliable account.” pic.twitter.com/PGGSnLWKxP

— Rabbi Linda Goldstein (I/P Commentary) (@realrabbilinda) May 9, 2024