'I Got Death Threats': Model sues U.N.'s Francesca Albanese over Nazi comparison

"Israeli actress and model Sarai Givaty has filed a defamation lawsuit seeking half a million shekels in damages against Francesca Albanese, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories. The lawsuit was filed through the organization Shurat HaDin and attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner following a tweet by Albanese. Givaty alleges that the post portrayed her as someone who justifies the killing of children and linked her remarks to arguments used by high-ranking Nazi officials to justify the murder of children during the Holocaust.

According to the statement of claim, the post stems from a video interview Givaty gave in September 2025. In the interview, Givaty discussed the shift in her worldview following the October 7 massacre. She addressed the rise of extremism on both sides-the far-right and radical Islam-and the need to take action against both. She concluded her remarks by saying: ‘It saddens me when any child in the world cries-it truly saddens me-but I also understand that if we do not act, that child will grow up to be a terrorist.’

The lawsuit emphasizes that these comments were made in the context of addressing the indoctrination of children toward hatred and to the point of extremism. Givaty did not call for the killing of children or for harming them, nor did she justify such harm.

According to Givaty, about a year after the interview, a 23-second clip-lacking the full context and accompanied by a partial English translation-began circulating online. On September 19, 2026, Albanese shared the clip on her account, adding an outrageous comparison, ‘The children will grow up.’ ‘This was also the argument presented by senior Nazi officials during the Nuremberg trials to justify the killing of children during the Holocaust.’

According to the lawsuit, the post garnered over two million views, tens of thousands of shares, and approximately 93,000 likes. Following this, the content was disseminated across media outlets and social media networks worldwide. Givaty states that she subsequently received dozens of hateful messages and direct threats..."