UN Watch calls on the World Bank to dismiss economist Maxillo Cali after he accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, citing bias and inappropriate conduct.
UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer cautioned that Cali's antagonistic stances damaged the bank's reputation in a letter to World Bank President Ajay Banga.
In a video clip from the Italian Parliament, Cali stated,
“Italians abhor genocide, and Italians don’t want to take part in genocide. So how is it that politics decides, day after day, to continue this decision, not only washing its hands of this genocide, but also, as we heard, explicitly supporting it?”
Cali has called Israel a “colonial apartheid settlement project” and likened it to Nazi Germany. Additionally, he has compared Jewish children in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust to youngsters in Gaza.
“Massimiliano Cali’s long record of antisemitic, anti-American, and pro-terror rhetoric makes a mockery of the World Bank’s own code of conduct,”
Neuer said.
“Keeping an apologist for terrorism on staff undermines the Bank’s credibility and damages its reputation.”
“We’re calling on the World Bank to fire him, to explain how the organization tolerated his dangerous and inflammatory posts for over a decade, and to hold his supervisors accountable – including Alexandre Arrobbio, the World Bank’s country Manager for Tunisia. If the U.S. is helping to fund $500 million for World Bank Tunisia projects, that office needs to be held accountable,”
Neuer stated.
Cali is the spouse of Francesca Albanese, the controversial UN Human Rights envoy, who has a documented history of supporting pro-terrorism, antisemitic, and history revisionist views.
Albanese has been accused of regularly condemning Israel while downplaying the scope of the 2023 Hamas Oct. 7 terror assault. Albanese is ostensibly charged with acting as an impartial and expert observer of the Middle East conflict.
Albanese was charged in June 2024 by UN Watch with "managing a global influence network of over 100 individuals and NGOs to target Israel."
Because Albanese embraced strong antisemitism, the United States demanded her removal in April.
“Today, the US sent SG@antonioguterres a letter opposing Francesca Albanese’s renewal as UN Special Rapporteur. We condemn her virulent antisemitism, which demonizes Israel and supports Hamas,”
UN Watch wrote on 𝕏.
How did the World Bank respond to UN Watch’s dismissal demand?
The World Bank responded to UN Watch’s demand for the dismissal of senior economist Massimiliano Cali by acknowledging its zero tolerance policy for racism, discrimination, and hate speech, including antisemitism, as affirmed in its Code of Ethics.
A World Bank spokesperson told Fox Business that when notified of potential violations, the Bank works with staff and managers to ensure understanding of expectations and requires removal of any posts that do not meet standards.
The Bank confirmed it took disciplinary action against Cali, including the deletion of posts that crossed the line into hate speech. Additionally, Cali’s social media presence has diminished in recent months, with some accounts no longer active. However, his Facebook page remains and includes posts supporting his wife's pro-Palestinian work.