Video summary
The video investigates a serious allegation involving Yahya Lickner, a former UN official who allegedly shared confidential United Nations information with Israeli diplomats between 2014 and 2015. According to an investigation by Dropsite, Lickner, who joined the UN Population Fund after working with an Israeli diplomatic mission, sent sensitive emails containing private meeting details, unpublished documents, and reports on upcoming UN investigations. These communications specifically focused on the UN's inquiry into Israel's 2014 military campaign in Gaza, known as Operation Protective Edge, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 civilians, the injury of more than 11,000 Palestinians, and the displacement of half a million people.
The leaked correspondence revealed that Lickner provided Israeli officials with internal discussions regarding the UN's human rights chief, including specific timings and content of investigations into Palestinian deaths in the West Bank. One notable instance involved an email where Lickner warned recipients that the information was for their eyes only, yet one diplomat responded by stating he would use these details to navigate conversations with members of Congress in the United States. The video argues that this exchange was not merely harmless information sharing but a deliberate strategy used by Israel to shape its talking points, justify its actions, and influence its political response to international scrutiny regarding human rights abuses committed during the conflict.
Further details from the report highlight Lickner's close working relationship with Ron Proyer, Israel's ambassador to the UN, who personally supported Lickner's candidacy for his position at the UN Population Fund. Emails between them expressed gratitude for "amazing and firsthand information," suggesting a pattern of frequent communication that facilitated the transfer of sensitive data. Although Lickner was eventually placed on leave, which the video describes as the least severe consequence possible, the incident raises profound questions about how confidential information within such a massive international organization could reach a foreign government without prior detection by the UN board or oversight bodies.
The investigation concludes by questioning the integrity and competency of those who work for humanitarian organizations like UNICEF, where Lickner currently serves as the director of the Washington DC office. The video posits that if these organizations are indeed feeding information to Israel to help cover up and justify alleged crimes against humanity, it fundamentally undermines their mission to assist vulnerable populations in Gaza and the West Bank. Ultimately, the case forces a critical examination of whose interests these humanitarian groups truly serve and whether the mechanisms for hiring and vetting staff within the UN system failed to prevent such a significant breach of trust and confidentiality.
Read the full video transcript
Can you imagine if a UN official was
sharing confidential and secret UN
information to Israeli diplomats? Well,
you don't really have to imagine far
because Dropsite recently just released
investigation that revealed exactly
that. So, this official's name is Yah
Lickner and this goes all the way back
to 2014 when he initially joined the UN
population fund after working with an
Israeli diplomatic mission. According to
the drop site news investigation, there
were a bunch of emails that were
revealed from 2014 to 2015 in which he
was sharing sensitive UN information
with his former Israeli colleagues.
These emails allegedly included
confidential reports, private meeting
details, unpublished documents, and
information about upcoming UN
investigations. There's one email that
particularly stood out to me which was
from 2015. So in these emails, Lner
reportedly sent Israeli diplomats
information about meetings that were had
with the UN's human rights chief at the
time, Zad Hussein. And these discussions
concerned the UN's investigation into
Israel's assault on in the summer of
2014, which is also called Operation
Protective Edge. So, I just want to read
out some stats to you guys about what
really happened during Operation
Protective Edge because at the time it
was the bloodiest assault Israel has
done on Khaza and that really set the
scene for years to come, especially
these past 3 years where we have seen
the live stream genocide in Kaza. During
only 50 days of hostilities, 1,462
civilians were killed. Moreover, 11,231
Palestinians were injured and over
12,600 housing units were destroyed.
Operation Protective Edge led to a
massive displacement crisis which led to
over 500,000 Palestinians in Ghaza being
displaced. There were obvious human
rights abuses committed by Israel in
2014 in Ghaza. Likener took it upon
himself to forward those discussions to
his former Israeli colleagues and
repeatedly warned that these emails were
for your eyes only. So the Israeli
diplomat who responded that he would use
that information to help him navigate
conversations that he would have with
Congress people here in the US. So it's
obvious that this isn't just like
harmless information sharing. This is
literal strategy that Israel was using
to help guide their talking points and
their justifications and their political
response to how the world was viewing
their assault on Ghaza, which were clear
human rights abuses at that time and
still are today. There are more examples
too throughout the emails that show the
same exact behavior. He reportedly um
shared around an unpublished letter from
the UN secretary general. Also provided
Israeli officials with advanced uh
information about UN discussions
concerning Palestinian deaths in the
West Bank. And in 2015, he shared even
more content about Operation Protective
Edge. He shared the timings and the
content of the UN investigation of the
operation. Another important detail that
was mentioned in the report was that
Likner actually worked with Israel's
ambassador to the UN, Ron Proer. And
according to the investigation, Proer
personally supported Licker's candidacy
for the UN position. And even during his
UN position, they would communicate very
often. And Proer literally said this to
him in an email. Thank you for the
amazing and firsthand information. These
communications were all from 2014 to
2015. It's not known whether he was
doing consistent activity like that
after 2015, but what we do know is is
that he still holds a position at UNICEF
and he's actually the director of
UNICEF's Washington DC office. He was
put on leave, which is, you know, the
least amount of consequence that he
could have for doing such a thing. But
it really begs the question of how does
confidential information inside an
international organization, one that is
so huge and robust like the UN,
allegedly reach a foreign government?
How was there such incompetency in how
this guy was hired? How did the board
not ever find out this information until
a drop site investigation released it?
There are so many questions here about
the legitimacy and the competency of
people who work at UNICEF. And UNICEF is
a children's organization. They are the
ones that are on the ground in places
like Gaza in the West Bank allegedly
helping the situation there. But really,
how much are they helping if they are
feeding information to Israel to help
them cover up and justify their crimes
against humanity? It really begs the
question of whose side are these
humanitarian organizations really