[Salon] 'Goebbels Applauding From Hell' - Israel Denounces Nobel Peace Prize Winner Over Gaza Genocide Probe

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

FM: John Whitbeck

Transmitted below is an initial HAARETZ report on the predictable response of the Israeli government to this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2026-10-09/ty-article/israel-denounces-nobel-peace-prize-winner-over-gaza-genocide-probe/000001a1-2070-d90c-a7bd-a974b2de0001

'Goebbels Applauding From Hell' - Israel Denounces Nobel Peace Prize Winner Over Gaza Genocide Probe

October 9, 2026

Israel denounced on Friday the decision to award Navenethem "Navi" Pillay the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, accusing her of "relentless, politically motivated demonization of Israel" over her having chaired a UN commission of inquiry that concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

"If there were an award for lies, hatred, and blood libels, Navi Pillay wouldn't just be a contender. She'd be a frontrunner," Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.

The statement also said that accusations of genocide leveled at Israel are "the biggest lie of the 21st century."

"Joseph Goebbels is certainly applauding from hell," it added, referring to Nazi Germany's chief propagandist during the Holocaust.

The UN human rights chief said that Pillay's Nobel Prize was a collective win for human rights and for all those seeking justice and accountability, including through the International Criminal Court.

Volker Turk, who worked closely with Navi Pillay during her tenure as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, described her as "the embodiment of international law."

"The fact that the Nobel Award Commission decided to give this to Navi Pillay is a collective win for human rights, but also for those seeking justice and accountability in this world," Turk said in response to Pillay's former role as an ICC judge.

Pillay, who was chair of a UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory until last year, found that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

"It is a recognition not only of what she did in relation to Palestine, but frankly what she did in relation to so many other conflicts and situations around the world," said Turk.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Pilay was awarded the prize "for her efforts to promote peace and international law."

Pillay, 85, held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict, and demonstrated a firm moral compass in her long career, the committee said.