(New York, NY) -- On September 24, 2024 a coalition of 37 leadership organizations in the American Jewish and legal communities (listed below), called on the law firm of Covington & Burling in a letter to withdraw its sponsorship of the American Branch of the International Law Association’s (ABILA’s) “International Law Weekend” (October 24-26, 2024).
This request is a result of the ABILA's steps over the past year to honor and promote Navi Pillay, chair of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Israel and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Pillay has consistently used her platform at the United Nations to further a contemptible discriminatory agenda against the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
CEO of StandWithUs, Roz Rothstein, stated: “The ABILA should be ashamed of its willful and continued endorsement and promotion of Pillay’s legal and moral stature. By sponsoring the ABILA’s International Law Weekend, Covington & Burling will appear as though it falls in line with the ABILA’s decision to honor Pillay, despite her contributions to modern-day antisemitism on the world stage.”
In 2023, the ABILA sought to present Pillay with its Outstanding Achievement Award at its International Law Weekend (ILW). Three major law firms admirably withdrew their names as sponsors of ILW 2023 after they were apprised of the award.
Despite omitting Pillay’s name from the program, the ABILA still conferred her the award. On July 2, 2024, the ABILA produced another event, “In Conversation with Navi Pillay,” in order to celebrate her work and her “2023 ABILA Outstanding Achievement Award for her longstanding dedication to international law.”
Pillay’s record includes the following:
Following Hamas’s invasion of Israel and subsequent war crimes on October 7, 2023, Pillay claimed in an interview that Palestinians were “actually forced to resort to armed struggle.”
In a June 2024 report on October 7, her Inquiry concluded that "concerning rape," the Commission "has not been able to independently verify such allegations” and “was also unable to verify reports of sexualized torture and genital mutilation” - defying the clear evidence and perpetrators’ own recordings.
No COI report has identified Palestinian groups like Hamas as internationally recognized terrorist organizations.
Pillay conducts her Inquiry by repeatedly ignoring hundreds of thousands of submissions from organizations and individuals she has publicly labeled “pro-Israel.”
Pillay defended fellow COI commissioner, Miloon Kothari, after he accused the “Jewish Lobby” of controlling social media and questioned Israel’s membership in the UN.
At a 2022 press conference, asked about antisemitism and her Inquiry, Pillay claimed “This is always raised as a diversion.”
In February 2024, Pillay sought to undermine the very legitimacy of Israel’s existence by claiming that it has been an occupying power for “75 years” – from the country’s inception.
Eighteen countries, including the US, condemned Pillay and her COI for its anti-Israel bias and for “overtly antisemitic comments” made by the member whom Pillay defended.
StandWithUs International and its organizational partners call upon Covington & Burling to immediately withdraw its sponsorship of the 2024 ABILA’s ILW Conference.
Signatories: StandWithUs, World Jewish Congress - North America, B'nai B'rith International, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis, American Association of Jewish Lawyers & Jurists, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Shurat HaDin Law Center, American Jewish Congress, Israeli-American Coalition for Action, NGO Monitor, National Jewish Advocacy Center, Zionist Organization of America, Zachary Legal Institute, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, Hasbara Fellowships, Stop Antisemitism, Endowment for Middle East Truth, Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, Deborah Project, Eagles’ Wings Ministries, Israel Christian Nexus, Human Rights Voices, Women’s International Zionist Organization, UK Lawyers for Israel, Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, South African Friends of Israel, South African Zionist Federation, Club Z, Israel Peace Initiative, Jewish Women International, Jew Belong, American Jewish International Relations Institute — B’nai B’rith International, A Wider Bridge, Combat Antisemitism Movement.
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, nonprofit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs on six continents, including throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands.
For the last eleven years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator and Guidestar, two charity watchdog groups that assess hundreds of thousands of charities in the United States.
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