US fumes as wife of 'biased' UN official named to post

March 21, 2014: Then-United Nations investigator Richard Falk addresses a news conference in Geneva.Reuters

It didn't take long for the United Nations to fill the anti-Israel role that controversial human rights investigator Richard Falk played -- as he left his post earlier this month, his wife and co-author on numerous pro-Palestinian papers was named to a separate position by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The perfectly timed switcheroo has the Obama administration and others fuming. Falk was notorious in his role as the point person for the Palestinian territories, known for his anti-Israel remarks and association with the 9/11 truther crowd -- his wife, Hilal Elver, carries a similar reputation.

A statement from the U.S. Mission in Geneva warned that the appointment, to be the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, could "reflect negatively" on the council. The statement noted "several of Ms. Elver's previous publications include biased and inflammatory views regarding the United States and the state of Israel."

Further, the Obama administration said her "lack of relevant experience" in the area of food "raises questions about her readiness" for a post dedicated to studying access to food.

But it is her public statements and writings that have caused the most concern. UN Watch, a United Nations watchdog group, repeatedly objected to the appointment, including in a recent letter to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power.

"Decisions like this threaten to turn the UN into a joke," UN Watch director Hillel Neuer said in a statement. "Falk was an open admirer of 9/11 conspiracy theorists and an apologist for terror groups whose term was finally up, so now the UN installed his closest professional collaborator -- his wife."

A 2007 article by Elver and Falk compared the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories to genocide. She also has repeatedly warned about the "Jewish lobby," claiming it has been "manipulating American politics" to ensure support for Israel.

Further, in December she presented a paper on what she called "water apartheid," focusing on Israel's alleged control over water to deprive Palestinians.

Like her husband, Elver has associated herself with 9/11 conspiracy theorists. She was listed in David Ray Griffin's "The New Pearl Harbor," which suggests the George W. Bush administration was complicit in the 2001 terror attacks, as having helped on the project.

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US fumes as wife of 'biased' UN official named to post