ISRAEL WITHDRAWS FROM UNESCO
Israel has filed notice to withdraw from the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) alongside the United
States.
Israel has blasted UNESCO in recent years over the organisation's
criticism of Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem and its decision to grant
full membership to Palestine in 2011.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said on Friday that she deeply
regretted Israel's decision to withdraw.
"A member of UNESCO since 1949, Israel has a rightful place inside
the United Nations agency that is dedicated to education, culture and
science," Azoulay noted.
Both Israel and the US - which filed its own withdrawal notice in
October, noting that it would instead seek to establish a permanent observer
mission to UNESCO - will officially cease membership as of December 31, 2018.
In announcing its withdrawal, the US Department of State noted
"anti-Israel bias" and "the need for fundamental reform"
within the organisation. Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu announced that Israel would pull out of UNESCO on the grounds that
the body had become "a theatre of the absurd".
Ongoing disagreements
UNESCO is best known for its work to preserve heritage, including
maintaining a list of World Heritage sites, and programmes to promote education
in developing countries.
In May, a UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem strongly criticised Israel's
occupation of the eastern part of the city.
In July, the UN body declared the Old City of Hebron in the occupied
West Bank to be an endangered World Heritage site, prompting Netanyahu to
announce a $1m funding cut to the UN, saying the UNESCO vote ignored Jewish
ties to the site.
Such disagreements were best dealt with from "inside UNESCO and
not outside it", Azoulay said.
"In the face of disagreements among Member States, which lead to
votes for which they are responsible, engaging fully in the work of UNESCO
makes possible sustained dialogue, cooperation and partnerships that are more
necessary than ever," she said.
Israel has nine sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, including the
White City of Tel Aviv, the Incense Route along desert cities in the Negev, and
the sites of human evolution at Mount Carmel.
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