Israeli Actress Sues UN Envoy Over Gaza Remarks for Half a Million Shekels

Israeli actress and model Sherri Givati has filed a NIS 500,000 defamation lawsuit against Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories. Givati alleges that Albanese distorted her words and took them out of context in a social media post, falsely portraying her as justifying the killing of children in Gaza, drawing a comparison to Nazi justifications during the Holocaust.

The lawsuit stems from a September 2025 interview Givati gave to i24NEWS, where she discussed her evolving views following the October 7th Hamas attacks and her role as an advocate for Israel. In the interview, Givati spoke about the radicalization of discourse and, when asked about actions taken by Israel, stated that while she is saddened by crying children, she understands that if action isn't taken, those children could grow up to be terrorists. She also expressed frustration that the term "Israeli" is now difficult for many to utter.

Givati, represented by the legal organization Shurat HaDin and attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, asserts she never called for harming children or justified such actions. The lawsuit clarifies that Givati's comment was a general statement about the dangers of radicalization and the education of children towards hatred, not a specific reference to children killed in the conflict.

Approximately a year after the interview, Albanese shared a 23-second clip of the interview on X (formerly Twitter) on September 19th, with a partial English translation. Albanese captioned the post, "The children will grow. This was also the argument used by senior Nazis during the Nuremberg trials to justify why they killed children during the Holocaust." The post garnered over two million views and tens of thousands of shares.

Givati claims Albanese's post was false, damaging to her reputation, and endangered her personal safety, leading to threats and hate messages. She argues that being linked to justifying child killings and Nazi rhetoric could harm her international career prospects. "As a mother, I am horrified by the false comparison," Givati stated, adding, "You can disagree with my opinions, but you cannot attribute things to me that I did not say and present me to millions of people as someone who justifies killing children. I will not remain silent in the face of someone trying to harm the State of Israel and slander it worldwide."

Shurat HaDin stated that Albanese is conducting an "anti-Semitic campaign full of venom against Israel" and that this lawsuit is the first opportunity to sue her for her hateful remarks. Albanese has not yet responded, but legal experts anticipate she may argue that Israeli courts lack jurisdiction or claim diplomatic immunity as a UN official. Shurat HaDin contends that Israeli courts do have jurisdiction because the post is global and the damage was incurred by Givati in Israel.