National Jewish Advocacy Center demands Amazon – Business News
A outstanding Jewish civil rights group has warned Amazon that promoting a forthcoming e book by a US-sanctioned United Nations official might violate federal sanctions law, and has urged the company to halt associated transactions.
Mark Goldfeder, head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, mentioned on X that his group notified the retail giant that Francesca Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, is barred from receiving funds or different financial advantages.
Albanese is the UN particular rapporteur on the Palestinian territories who sparked a furor after accusing Israel of genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism in UN stories and public statements — claims that Israel and the US have rejected as false and antisemitic.
Mark Goldfeder, head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, mentioned he has despatched Amazon legal discover relating to the sale of a e book extremely vital of Israel. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
She can be the creator of “When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine,” a assortment of essays and personal reflections on Israeli insurance policies within the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The hardcover, scheduled for release in April, is at the moment listed as a bestseller within the human rights class on Amazon’s web site.
“Today we issued notice to Amazon and others about potential sanctions-violations connected to @FranceskAlbs new book,” Goldfeder wrote on X earlier this week.
The US sanctioned Albanese in July, with officers alleging she improperly coordinated with the International Criminal Court and engaged in political and financial warfare in opposition to the US and Israel.
Goldfeder argues that Albanese’s designation as a Specially Designated National means all of her property and pursuits in property are blocked, barring US corporations from transferring funds or offering companies to her with out authorization from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“Under federal law, property and interests of Specially Designated Nationals are blocked and may not be transferred or paid out without specific authorization,” he wrote Monday.
Francesca Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer who serves as UN particular rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, has been sanctioned by the Trump administration. Factstory for MOFA/AFP through Getty Images
She is creator of “When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine,” a assortment of essays and personal reflections on Israeli insurance policies within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Other Press
In his legal discover to Amazon and different distributors, Goldfeder warned that the company’s platform “promotes and sells Ms. Francesca Albanese’s publications, directly enhancing her revenue and conferring a financial benefit,” which he mentioned falls outdoors protections for informational supplies and will expose the retailer to civil penalties beneath US sanctions law.
Goldfeder rejected allegations of censorship, saying the difficulty is just not the e book’s content material however whether or not US corporations might legally conduct business with a sanctioned particular person.
Goldfeder advised The Post on Thursday that he plans to share a pattern of the legal notices his group despatched to publishers and distributors and confused that the hassle is just not supposed to suppress speech.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the most recent information, videos, photographs and more.
Thanks for signing up!
He mentioned his group “certainly believe[s] in free speech” and is “not at all trying to ban the book,” however needs corporations to grasp how funds tied to the amount needs to be dealt with beneath sanctions law.
“She can say whatever she wants but as a sanctioned person, she can’t get paid for it,” Goldfeder mentioned, including that his group hopes gross sales proceed in order that proceeds will be positioned in escrow.
He mentioned the funds might finally be transferred to his shoppers in the event that they prevail in a defamation lawsuit his group has filed in opposition to Albanese.
Goldfeder mentioned on X that he notified Amazon that Albanese is barred from receiving funds or different financial advantages.
In September, the National Jewish Advocacy Center sued Albanese in Colorado federal courtroom on behalf of Christian Friends of Israeli Communities and Christians for Israel USA.
They accused Albanese of falsely branding the teams as complicit in genocide and battle crimes in a 2025 report circulated after her UN function ended, harming their reputations, endangering supporters and threatening their charitable work.
The go well with seeks damages in addition to a retraction and an order barring her from repeating the claims. It famous Albanese has claimed immunity as a UN official, however the plaintiffs argue that she made the defamatory remarks outdoors of her official duties.
Albanese dismissed the most recent legal menace, writing on X that the controversy amounted to “more free ads” for her e book and denouncing what she referred to as “the pro-Israel minions” behind the hassle.
Albanese’s e book, which shall be on sale in April, is at the moment atop the bestseller record on Amazon. Amazon.com
Albanese has confronted mounting skilled fallout within the US.
She was not too long ago dropped by Georgetown University, which eliminated her from its record of affiliated students and deleted her profile from the college’s web site following the imposition of US sanctions.
Albanese has mentioned the transfer was a direct consequence of the sanctions moderately than criticism of her previous statements.
“Ms. Albanese has no official affiliation with Georgetown and was never a member of our faculty or staff,” a spokesperson for Georgetown advised The Post.
“Institutions are prohibited by federal law from affiliating with individuals subject to US sanctions.”
The Post has sought remark from Amazon and Albanese.
