Rights row: Legal notice to Amazon; ‘You can’t do business with US-banned author’
A prominent Jewish civil rights group has warned Amazon that selling a forthcoming book by a US-sanctioned UN official could violate federal sanctions law. The National Jewish Advocacy Center argues that facilitating sales for Francesca Albanese, designated a Specially Designated National, confers a financial benefit prohibited under US law. This action could expose Amazon to significant civil penalties.
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Amazon has received a legal notice from a prominent Jewish civil rights group. Reason a forthcoming book listed on Amazon's website. According to a report in the New York Post, National Jewish Advocacy Center has warned Amazon that selling a forthcoming book by a US-sanctioned United Nations official could violate federal sanctions law.
In a post on Twitter, Mark Goldfeder, head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said that his organization notified the retail giant that Francesca Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, is banned from receiving payments or other economic benefits in the US. “Today we issued notice to Amazon and others about potential sanctions-violations connected to @FranceskAlbs new book,” Goldfeder wrote on Twitter.
The hardcover, scheduled for release in April, is currently reportedly listed as a bestseller in the human rights category on Amazon’s website.
How Amazon is 'breaking law' claims the rights group
The US reportedly sanctioned Albanese in July, with officials alleging she improperly coordinated with the International Criminal Court and engaged in political and economic warfare against the US and Israel. Goldfeder rejected allegations of censorship, saying the issue is not the book’s content but whether US companies may legally conduct business with a sanctioned individual.
In his legal notice to Amazon and other distributors, Goldfeder warned that the company’s platform “promotes and sells Ms.
Francesca Albanese’s publications, directly enhancing her revenue and conferring a financial benefit,” which he said falls outside protections for informational materials and could expose the retailer to civil penalties under US sanctions law. “Under federal law, property and interests of Specially Designated Nationals are blocked and may not be transferred or paid out without specific authorization,” he wrote Monday.
Who is Francesca Albanese
Francesca Albanese is the UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories who sparked a furore after accusing Israel of genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism in UN reports and public statements. Both Israel and the US have rejected his claims as false and antisemitic. She is also the author of “When the World Sleeps: Stories, Words, and Wounds of Palestine,” a collection of essays and personal reflections on Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Goldfeder argues that Albanese’s designation as a Specially Designated National means all of her property and interests in property are blocked, barring US companies from transferring funds or providing services to her without authorization from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. He wrote, "Francesca Albanese was designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by OFAC in July 2025.