President Biden on Tuesday yanked the nomination of his pick to serve on an international human rights organization because of the candidate’s criticism of Israel and of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Mr. Biden pulled the candidacy of James Cavallaro, a professor at Yale and Columbia. He was nominated to serve as an independent member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a watchdog group that monitors human rights violations in the Americas.
Members of the commission, which has headquartered in Washington, are elected from a list of candidates proposed by its member nations, including 35 countries in the Americas.
The Biden administration had nominated Mr. Cavallaro on Friday, hailing him as a “leading scholar and practitioner of international law” and praising his expertise in Central and South America.
But on Tuesday, the State Department said his candidacy was pulled after a series of social media posts and comments disparaging Israel came to light. The Algemeiner, a nonprofit newspaper that covers the Jewish community, first revealed his comments.
In a December 2022 tweet, which was deleted only last week, Mr. Cavallaro blasted Mr. Jeffries, New York Democrat, of being “bought” by pro-Israel lobbyists.
“Bought. Purchased. Controlled,” Mr. Cavallaro wrote with a link to an article about donations to Mr. Jeffries from pro-Israel groups. The tweet was viewed as invoking antisemitic language to accuse Jewish groups of using money to control U.S. politics.
In another post, Mr. Cavallaro called Israel an “apartheid state.”
According to the Algemeiner, Mr. Cavallaro published inflammatory statements about several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. He called Sen. Susan M. Collins, Maine Republican, “pedantic, self-righteous and pompous,” and urged her to “learn from the Palestinian people” and resign because of “repeated moral failings,” the article said.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed that the administration had pulled Mr. Cavallaro’s nomination. He said they were caught off-guard by the writings.
“We were not aware of the statements and writings,” Mr. Price said, adding that the comments were “inappropriate.”
Mr. Cavallaro also confirmed in a series of tweets that his nomination had been nixed. However, he did not back down on his earlier claims about Israel.
“Today, the State Dept. informed me that they were withdrawing my candidacy because of my view that the conditions in Israel/Palestine meet the definition of apartheid under international human rights law,” he wrote.
Mr. Cavallaro said several groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have issued reports concluding the conditions in Israel and Palestine met the conditions of apartheid.
He said if he had been confirmed as a commissioner, he would not have stated his personal opinions on U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.
“What has the withdrawal of my nomination achieved? The removal from the [Inter-American Commission on Human Rights] of the potential return of a committed, experienced advocate for human rights in the Americas,” he posted.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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