Politics
10:25, 23-Dec-2017
Israel to leave UNESCO over 'attacks' on Jewish state
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Israel has announced it is leaving UNESCO citing the UN cultural agency's "systematic attacks" on the Jewish state.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Friday that the decision was based on the organization's "attempts to disconnect Jewish history from the land of Israel." He said the official letter of departure will be submitted before the year's end and that Israel will leave the organization by the end of 2018.
Israel has long complained of perceived anti-Israel bias within the UN, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters.
The US withdrew from UNESCO earlier this year citing similar reasons.
Recent resolutions by the organization outraged many Israelis who viewed them as diminishing the deep Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the biblical city of Hebron.
Current UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. /Reuters Photo
Current UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. /Reuters Photo
The United States announced in October it is pulling out of the UNESCO because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias and a need for "fundamental reform" in the agency. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel plans to follow suit.
Outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova expressed "profound regret" at the US decision and tried to defend UNESCO's reputation. The organization is best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions, but also works to improve education for girls, promote understanding of the Holocaust's horrors and to defend media freedom.
Ms. Bokova called the US' planned departure a loss for "the United Nations family" and for multilateralism. The US and UNESCO matter to each other more than ever now with "the rise of violent extremism and terrorism," she said.
The US stopped funding UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011, but the State Department has maintained a UNESCO office and sought to weigh in on policy behind the scenes. The US now owes about 550 million US dollars in back payments.
Source(s): AP