Kenneth Roth
Kenneth Roth | |
---|---|
Born | Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S. | September 23, 1955
Education | Brown University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Known for | Executive director of Human Rights Watch |
Spouse |
Annie Sparrow (m. 2011) |
Kenneth Roth (born September 23, 1955) is an American attorney,
Early life
Kenneth Roth was born on September 23, 1955, in Elmhurst, Illinois, to Muriel T. Roth and Walter S. Roth. His father was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany.[1][2][3] Walter's family had a butchery in Germany near Frankfurt when Adolf Hitler came to power.
Kenneth Roth grew up in Deerfield, Illinois.[4] He graduated from Brown University in 1977 with a BA in history[1] and received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1980.[5]
On June 13, 2011, Roth was married in an Anglican church to Annie Sparrow.[3]
Career
Roth worked in private practice as a litigator and served as an
Roth joined Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 1987 as deputy director. His initial work centered on Haiti[9] and gradually extended to Cuba[10] and the Middle East,[11] among other places.
Since 1993 (when
Roth received honorary degrees from Brown University,[13] Bowdoin College,[14] the University of Ottawa,[15] and the American University of Paris.[16] He was a recipient of the Athens Democracy Award,[17] the William Rogers Award[18] from Brown University and the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award[19] from Tufts University. He serves on the Watson Institute Board of Overseers[20] at Brown University, the Board of Governors of Bard College Berlin,[21] and the Humanitarian and Development Advisory Panel of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.[22]
Controversies
Remarks on Israel's policies
Following a 2006 HRW report on the
HRW founder
In 2014, Roth tweeted, "Germans rally against anti-Semitism that flared in Europe in response to Israel's conduct in Gaza war. Merkel joins."
In 2021, Roth tweeted: "Antisemitism is always wrong, and it long preceded the creation of Israel, but the surge in UK antisemitic incidents during the recent Gaza conflict gives the lie to those who pretend that the Israeli government's conduct doesn't affect antisemitism." American Jewish Committee director David Harris responded: "No, antisemitism is always wrong, period. Just as racism is always wrong, period. Coming from an alleged human rights defender, totally & utterly despicable".[34] The Anti-Defamation League said: "blaming Israel for the recent rise in violent antisemitic incidents, instead of blaming the antisemitic actors themselves, is plainly false and offensive"[35] The Community Security Trust said: "Kenneth Roth's tweet is a typical example of how Israel, Jews and antisemitism appear to be treated differently to other types of racism". After the backlash, Roth deleted his post, tweeting, "I deleted an earlier tweet because people misinterpreted its wording",[36] but did not apologize, writing, "Interesting how many people pretend that this tweet justifies antisemitism (it doesn't and I don't under any circumstances), rather than address the correlation…between recent Israeli government conduct in Gaza and the rise of UK antisemitic incidents."[37]
Remarks on Harvard Kennedy School
In 2021, Roth was offered a fellowship at the
On January 19, 2023, The Kennedy School, which denies Roth's allegations,[45] reversed its decision, reoffering Roth the fellowship.[46] Elmendorf said that his initial decision had been in "error" and was not intended "to limit debate at the Kennedy School about human rights in any country".[47] Roth responded that Elmendorf failed to say anything to identify the people "who matter to him" who he said were behind his original veto decision. "Full transparency is key to ensuring that such influence is not exerted in other cases", Roth said, adding: "Secondly, I remain worried about academic freedom. Given my three decades leading Human Rights Watch, I was able to shine an intense spotlight on Dean Elmendorf’s decision, but what about others? The problem of people penalized for criticizing Israel is not limited to me."[48]
In the fall of 2023, Roth joined the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs as a lecturer and the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor.[49]
Rwanda genocide
In 2010, Fred Oluoch-Ojiwah of Rwanda's New Times questioned Roth's impartiality and equated Roth's criticism of Rwanda's human rights record to a "love affair" with the "genocidaires" that carried out the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.[50]
In a later article, Oluoch-Ojiwah wrote: "As a western human rights personality [Roth]... will always fail to understand the intricacies and complexities surrounding the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. Wrapping it up simplistically the way he has done will only serve to undo the gains already registered in driving the very delicate process of bringing forth a new dispensation in Rwanda and by extension the African Great Lakes region."[51]
Acceptance of donation with non-LGBT rights provision
In 2013, HRW accepted a $487,000 gift from Saudi billionaire
In 2020, HRW returned the donation to the Saudi billionaire.[52] Acceptance of this donation by Roth led to internal disputes over whether this violated HRW ethics policies and over Roth's decision-making, though it did not affect Roth's status at HRW.[52]
Denied entry
Egypt
In 2014, the Egyptian government blocked Roth from entering the country.
China
In December 2019, China announced unspecified sanctions against HRW and several other NGOs because of links to the
References
- ^ a b "Tyranny Has a Witness". www.brownalumnimagazine.com. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "National Security in a Turbulent World - Yale Law School". law.yale.edu. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Khan, Aina J. (April 26, 2022). "Kenneth Roth, 'Godfather' of Human Rights Work, to Step Down". New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ "Ken Roth Executive Director". Human Rights Watch. 2004.
- ^ a b "Kenneth Roth Biography". The University of Winnipeg. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ "Human Rights Watch". socialsciences.in. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0934143158.
- ^ More by Kenneth Roth (March 26, 1992). "Haiti: The Shadows of Terror by Kenneth Roth". The New York Review of Books. Nybooks.com. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ^ "INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK OF AMERICAS WATCH". hrw.org. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Kuwait: Human Rights after February 28, 1991" (PDF). justice.gov. March 1992.
- ^ Atukunda, Roger (September 4, 2022). "Kenneth Roth leaves Human Rights watch after 30 years, Tirana Hassan named Interim Executive Director". softpower.ug. SoftPower News. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ "Brown to confer 10 honorary doctorates May 29". News from Brown. Brown University. April 27, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees". Office of the President. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Roth, Kenneth". Office of the President. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Honorary Degree Recipients". www.aup.edu. November 9, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "City of Athens Democracy Award". Athens Democracy Forum. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "The William Rogers Award". Alumni & Friends, Brown University. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University 2004-05 Annual Report" (PDF).
- ^ "Board of Governors. Watson Institute". Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Governance at Bard College Berlin". berlin.bard.edu. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ^ "Novo Nordisk Foundation establishes a new advisory panel for its humanitarian grants". Novo Nordisk Fonden. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-253-03872-2. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ISBN 9780374531508.
- ^ a b "At 88, a man of morals starts over". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Authors reject calls to retract Goldstone report on Gaza". Agence France-Presse. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ Jeffrey Goldberg (September 21, 2014). "Does Human Rights Watch Understand the Nature of Prejudice?". The Atlantic.
- ^ Magarik, Raphael (September 24, 2014). "Do Jewish Actions Ever Cause Anti-Semitism?". The Forward.
- ^ "Can Human Rights Watch be salvaged?". American Enterprise Institute. October 23, 2014.
- ^ Alvin H. Rosenfeld (January 9, 2019). Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism: The Dynamics of Delegitimization. Indiana University Press.
- ^ Steven A. Cook (2015). "Why Is Israel Criticized for Helping Nepal Earthquake Victims?". Newsweek.
- ^ Daniel Kohn (September 8, 2017). "Opinion: Human Rights Watch Tweet Exposes Decades-Old Anti Israel Bias". The Forward.
- ^ "Head of Human Rights Watch Skewered on Twitter for Peace-Hating Rant Belittling Israel-UAE Accord". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
- ^ "HRW director accused of justifying antisemitism on Twitter". The Jerusalem Post. July 19, 2021.
- ^ "Human Rights Watch Director Tweet Blames Israeli Gov't for Rise in UK Antisemitism". jewishjournal. July 2021.
- ^ "Head of Human Rights Watch accused of 'excusing' antisemitism". Jewish News. July 20, 2021.
- ^ Cohen, Michael A. (January 19, 2023). "How a Harvard Fellowship Flap Spawned Israel Conspiracy Theories" – via www.thedailybeast.com.
- npr. January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ "Harvard blocks role for former Human Rights Watch head over Israel criticism". the Guardian. January 6, 2023.
- ^ Harvard Faces Outcry for Rescinding Post to Ex-Head of Human Rights Watch over Criticism of Israel, retrieved January 9, 2023
- ^ "Harvard Kennedy School condemned for denying fellowship to Israel critic". the Guardian. January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
- ^ Staff, The New Arab (January 11, 2023). "HRW 'concerned' after ex-director loses Harvard offer". The New Arab.
- ^ "Hundreds Call for Resignation of Harvard Kennedy School Dean Accused of Blocking Fellowship Over Israel Criticism | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com.
- ^ "Harvard Reinstates Offer to Ex-Human Rights Watch Chief After Israel Controversy." The Times of Israel | News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World, 19 Jan. 2023, www.timesofisrael.com/harvard-reinstates-offer-to-ex-human-rights-watch-chief-after-israel-controversy/.
- ^ Schuessler, Jennifer; Tracy, Marc (January 19, 2023). "Harvard Reverses Course on Human Rights Advocate Who Criticized Israel" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Staff, Al Jazeera. "Harvard reverses course, will offer former HRW chief a fellowship". www.aljazeera.com.
- ^ "Harvard reverses decision on role for Israel critic after outcry". the Guardian. January 19, 2023.
- ^ "Behind The Research: Kenneth Roth Champions Universal Human Rights". Princeton Alumni Weekly. December 27, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ “Rwanda: Is Kenneth Roth in Love With Genocidaires?” by Fred Oluoch-Ojiwah, 26 April 2010, AllAfrica.com
- ^ “2nd Open Letter to Kenneth Roth: Rwanda will not be a political play field”, by Fred Oluoch-Ojiwah, New Times.
- ^ a b c Emmons, Alex (March 2, 2020). "Human Rights Watch Took Money From Saudi Businessman After Documenting His Coercive Labor Practices". The Intercept. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "Egypt: Human Rights Watch Delegation Refused Entry". Human Rights Watch. August 11, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ "All According to Plan". Human Rights Watch. August 12, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ "Egyptian security forces 'planned massacre,' says HRW". BBC News. August 12, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "World Report 2020". Human Rights Watch. November 25, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "World Report 2020: Rights Trends in China's Global Threat to Human Rights". Human Rights Watch. January 3, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "Human Rights Watch report blasts China as its chief barred from Hong Kong". Reuters. January 15, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "China Hits U.S. Officials With Sanctions, Avoids Top Trump Aides". Bloomberg.com. August 10, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2021.