According to the press secretary’s statement, “The US will not participate in the activities of international structures that undermine the country’s interests and those of its allies”.

Washington’s Main Grievances Against UNESCO

The withdrawal is accompanied by a list of specific accusations against the organization:

• Anti-Israel bias. The US administration noted that UNESCO regularly adopts unilateral resolutions condemning Israel’s actions while ignoring provocations by Hamas and other radical groups.
• Distortion of historical context. According to the US, a number of the organization’s documents deny the historical connection of the Jewish people with the religious sites in Jerusalem.
• Ideologization of the agenda. Among the controversial initiatives are programs related to racial and gender politics, which, in the opinion of the White House, impose external value settings on countries.
• Growing influence of China. The US authorities also expressed concern about Beijing’s strengthening positions in the organization, including attempts to promote China’s political interests on the international platform.

UNESCO’s Anti-Israel Decisions: A 25-Year Overview

The US decision to withdraw was largely motivated by UNESCO’s attitude towards Israel. Over the last two and a half decades, the organization has repeatedly been the arena for politicized decisions, in which Israel was isolated. Among the most resonant:

• 2011 — Palestine’s admission to UNESCO as a member state. Israel and the US then suspended funding for the organization.
• 2016 — a resolution in which the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are referred to exclusively by their Muslim names, without mentioning the Jewish history of these places.
• 2017 — the inclusion of the Hebron center and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the list of “Palestinian cultural heritage” sites, despite their religious and historical significance for Judaism.
• Regular condemnations of Israel in connection with military operations in Gaza — with no similar statements regarding Palestinian armed formations.

Reasons for Politicization

Analysts point to several factors contributing to such an agenda in UNESCO:

• Broad representation of countries traditionally supporting the Palestinian side, especially in executive bodies;
• Lack of an effective mechanism for expert review of political formulations in resolutions;
• Use of humanitarian rhetoric to advance geopolitical interests;
• Inadequate response from Western states, preferring not to engage in open disputes on these issues.

Israel and UNESCO

Israel left UNESCO simultaneously with the US in 2018. A return is not being considered. In Jerusalem, it has been repeatedly stated that an organization claiming to protect cultural heritage cannot ignore historical facts and demonstrate a one-sided approach to the Middle East conflict.