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A Possible Return to UNESCO - a Very Bad Idea

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Alan Baker with Wade Gittleson and Lea Bilke - Recent media reports indicate that the U.S. is considering re-engaging with UNESCO and is encouraging Israel to do so as well. Both the U.S. and Israel withdrew from the organization in 2018 after it granted full member-state status to the Palestinians. Congressional legislation prohibits the U.S. from contributing to UN organizations that grant full, state membership to any group that does not have internationally recognized attributes of statehood. This legislation, therefore, bans U.S. contributions to UNESCO. Rejoining UNESCO would imply recognition of a Palestinian state despite the fact that no such state exists. It would further contravene the premise of the Oslo Accords that the permanent status of the territories must be resolved by direct negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians and not through unilateral measures intended to bypass such negotiations. Alan Baker, former legal counsel to Israel's foreign ministry, heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center. Wade Ze'ev Gittleson is a student at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Lea Bilke is a law student at the Free University of Berlin in Germany.
2021-12-23 00:00:00
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