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American Jewish Committee has decried the failure of a UN panel to identify the October 7 mass murder of Israelis by Hamas as a terrorist act and protested its “false equivalence” of the Hamas attack and Israel’s self-defensive actions.

Reacting to the just-released report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI)and the panel’s accompanying statement, AJC Director of Diplomatic Affairs Aaron Jacob stated:

“Today, the Commission of Inquiry (COI), established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, issued another anti-Israel press release. In failing to refer in detail to the heinous crimes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, and instead grouping them with the legitimate acts of self-defence taken by the Jewish state, the Commission drew a false moral equivalence between Israel and a terrorist organization dedicated to destroying it.

“Hamas’ indiscriminate murder of more than 1,400 persons, the injury of more than 3,500, the abduction of and forcible transfer of more than 199 individuals into the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of entire Israeli communities along the border overwhelmingly and purposefully targeted civilians, including women, children, and the elderly. Hamas’ unprovoked and brutal attack meets every definition of terrorism, yet the word ‘terrorism’ is missing from the press release.

“AJC has repeatedly called attention to the utter one-sidedness of COI. Today’s press release is yet another blatant example of this bias.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and The New Zealand Jewish Council have expressed their identical sentiments.