The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is being accused of circulating a crude anti-Semitic document reminiscent of medieval blood libels without exercising its discretion to modify it.

During the 13th session of the council, which ended last week, the UN body distributed a document to delegates that had been submitted by EAFORD, the International Organization for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. The document now bears “the UN imprimatur” and was published as a UN document, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

EAFORD accuses Israel of “ethnic cleansing and massacres” and alleges that “Israeli physicians, medical centres, rabbis and the Israeli army” harvested the organs of “dead, kidnapped and killed Palestinians.”

“After Israeli physicians remove organs they think marketable, the soldiers bury the bodies in graves that carry only numbers and no names, or place them in sealed caskets and deliver them under curfew conditions to the families and supervise the digging of the graves and burial,” EAFORD stated.

The Swiss-based organization urged the UNHRC to investigate the allegations, which first appeared in a Swedish newspaper. The freelance journalist, Donald Bostrom, subsequently acknowledged he was repeating rumours and could not substantiate the claims.

Neuer said the UNHRC has in the past called on him to modify the language used in written statements and oral submissions, and it should have done no less with the material from EAFORD.

“We submitted six or seven written statements for this session but the UN called us with regard to calling Sudan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Zimbabwe ‘regimes.’ They didn’t like the language and they asked us to change it” to governments, he said.

“I couldn’t use the word ‘regime,’ but they use the most fantastic medieval blood libels,” Neuer added.

Neuer pointed out that in addressing the council on agenda item seven, “Palestine,” UN Watch was reprimanded by council president Alex Van Meeuwen for saying the Goldstone report adopted “the narrative of a terrorist group,” referring to Hamas.

Van Meeuwen said he had called for “dignity and respect in this chamber” and said UN Watch’s remarks “cannot be accepted.”

“Tolerance and respect should be the key words of the council’s work,” he added.

Neuer accused the council of a double standard. “When they want to, they call to get a change on written documents that are circulated,” he said.

Canadian Jewish Congress CEO Bernie Farber said the UN document circulated “blood libels” similar to one accusing Jews of using human blood in rituals.

“Not only is there no proof, it is a take-off of the historical calumny of the Jewish blood libel, and that this is coming out under the auspices of the United Nations, and from an accredited UN organization, is breathtaking in its shame,” he said.

B’nai Brith Canada condemned the Human Rights Council for publishing EAFORD’s claims. EAFORD, B’nai Brith noted, was funded by Libya.

“A modern-day blood libel against the Jewish people is sadly now part of the UN’s international record,” said Frank Dimant, B’nai Brith’s executive vice-president.

David Matas, B’nai Brith’s senior legal counsel who monitored the Human Rights Council in Geneva, said “We call on the UN to start its much-needed reform by denouncing and rescinding EAFORD’s blood libel against Israel and cleansing its Human Rights Council of regimes whose sole purpose to sit on that entity is to shield themselves from the human rights microscope, while at the same time seeking to demonize Israel.  The UN must reform or it will cease to exist as a legitimate organization capable of defending the freedoms and human rights that all people of good faith hold dear.”

Circulation of the EAFORD statement came as the council adopted five resolutions critical of Israel. Only three resolutions were directed at the rest of the world, targeting North Korea, Myanmar (Burma) and Guinea.

The resolutions against Israel “all turn a blind eye to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorism,” Neuer said.

“It is a continuation of the pattern and practice of hypocrisy and injustice and moral inversion. We were promised reform, and instead we’re seeing regression,” he said.

One of the resolutions adopted by the council was a follow-up to the Goldstone report on last year’s war in Gaza, which called on Israel and Palestinians to investigate allegations of violations of human rights law. It also urged establishment of an escrow fund for reparations to Palestinians who suffered loss during the Gaza conflict of December 2008 and January 2009. No such fund is proposed for Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks.

Efforts to reach the UNHRC for comment were unsuccessful.