With a green light from Israel, US decides to return to UNESCO

The United States has informed UNESCO, the United Nations Organization for Culture, Education and Science, of its decision to rejoin it, six years after withdrawing its membership.

The previous US administration, under President Donald Trump, withdrew from the UN organization, claiming that it was hostile to the Israeli occupation.

US President Joe Biden decided to return to the membership of the United Nations, and his administration informed UNESCO of its decision to return to it, after obtaining a “green light” from the occupying country to move forward with this step, and the Director-General of the organization summoned all its member states for an urgent discussion to approve the step.

The political correspondent of the Hebrew “Walla” website stated that returning to UNESCO was one of the goals of the Biden administration’s foreign policy, with the aim of limiting China’s growing influence on the organization and its global agenda, but Washington needed Israeli assistance to encourage a return to the organization.

After granting the Palestinians state status in UNESCO in 2011, the administration of former President Barack Obama stopped transferring funding to it due to a congressional law that prohibited this, and in October 2017 the Trump administration announced its withdrawal from UNESCO because of its anti-Israel policy, and Prime Minister Benjamin supported Netanyahu moved Trump, and announced shortly that Tel Aviv would also leave UNESCO.

The site indicated that this Israeli position paved the way for the support of members of Congress from both the Republican and Democratic parties for this step, as it agreed in December to allocate $ 500 million to cover the US debt to UNESCO so that it can return to the status of a full member of it.

The legislation included a provision that if the Palestinians were granted state status in a United Nations organization, US funding to UNESCO would be halted again.

On June 8, the US Deputy Secretary of State sent a letter to the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, proposing a plan for the United States’ return to the organization.

A US State Department spokesperson announced that the plan, which came as a result of lengthy negotiations, sets a timetable for paying off the US debt and returning to membership in the executive committee of the organization. Behind the scenes, the office of its director general invited ambassadors of all member states of the organization to attend an unplanned meeting to deliver an “urgent message about information.” of strategic importance”, without disclosing its content.

Azoulay called the meeting to inform representatives of member states of the United States’ plan to return to UNESCO membership, and to seek approval from member states to convene the organization’s general conference in July to vote on approving the plan.

It was reported that the occupation agreed to change its position on the international organization after receiving guarantees that it would prevent unilateral steps against it, and recognize a Jewish site in Jerusalem as part of the world heritage, and therefore informed the American administration that it had removed its opposition to its return to UNESCO, in preparation for allocating $ 500 million to pay Its debts are to the organization, which in recent years has turned into a battlefield between the occupation and the Palestinians with a series of anti-Israel resolutions, especially with regard to the issue of occupied Jerusalem.

It should be noted that UNESCO President Audrey Azoulay asked for the help of her father, advisor to the King of Morocco, Andre Azoulay, who is close to many senior Israeli officials, and President of the World Jewish Congress Ron Lauder to deliver messages to the Israeli government, amid the belief that responding to the American request to return to UNESCO will serve the occupation, allegedly Positive changes will take place in the organization from his point of view, and he expects to invite it to visit occupied Jerusalem.