NYTimes.com: Her Optimism Has Won Her Some of the Most Powerful Enemies in the World

Her Optimism Has Won Her Some of the Most Powerful Enemies in the World
By M. Gessen – The New York Times
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October 16, 2025

Summary
Masha Gessen profiles Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, who has become a global lightning rod for her outspoken investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes and corporate complicity in Gaza.

Once a little-known humanitarian lawyer, Albanese has been sanctioned by the Trump administration—barred from the U.S. and accused of antisemitism and “defaming” corporations—after publishing reports alleging that Israel’s actions in Gaza may constitute genocide and that major Western companies, including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Lockheed Martin, have profited from it.

Gessen situates Albanese’s clash with Washington in the broader erosion of international justice since Nuremberg. Once unified against atrocities in Ukraine, the Western powers now shield Israel, undermining the institutions they helped build. Albanese argues this moment could mark a new beginning, as emerging nations and activists—the “Hague Group”—push to hold Israel accountable and reassert global legal norms. Despite threats and isolation, she remains defiant, insisting that international law is a tool, not a faith, and can still deliver justice.

Quotes

• “Francesca Albanese became a hometown hero after the White House branded her an enemy.”

• “There are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating Israel’s commission of genocide is met.”

• “This administration does not claim to have a conscience, and seeks to punish any country or person that aspires to have one.”

• “We really need to find a way to isolate this administration, to stop entrusting it with the power to dictate the rules of engagement at the international level.”

• “International law is not God. International law is an instrument, it’s a tool.”