Israel will not oppose US re-joining UNESCO

Israel has told the United States that it will not oppose its return to full membership of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Axios reported yesterday.

The news site revealed that the US administration of President Joe Biden had privately asked Israel not to oppose its return to UNESCO, where it is looking to counter China’s growing influence.

In 2017, during the tenure of the former President Donald Trump, the US administration left the UN organisation over claims of its anti-Israel bias.

Biden’s administration needs Israel’s consent in this regard in order to convince Congressmen to vote in favour of a bill that will allow the president to waive the law that stopped US funding.

Re-joining the UN organisation paves the way for the US Congress to vote on the allocation of more than $500 million needed to pay the US debt to UNSECO in order to return as a full member.

“It is very important to the Biden administration and it is not the same UNESCO. We received assurances that Israel will not be treated as it used to be treated,” Axios reported a senior Israeli official saying.

READ: UNESCO adds Palestine embroidery to Cultural Heritage List