US pulls out of UNESCO again. A look at the rocky ties tracing back to Raegan, with Israel at heart

“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” said spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, accusing the agency of pushing a globalist agenda through its focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The final straw, she added, was the inclusion of Palestine, which the US says fuels anti-Israel rhetoric within the organisation.

It’s a move that marks yet another chapter in the US’s fraught history with UNESCO, one that has been marked by multiple withdrawals, funding freezes, and political posturing. The tensions go back as far as 1984, when the Ronald Reagan administration first pulled out, citing corruption, mismanagement, and a perceived pro-Soviet bias. The US eventually rejoined under George W Bush in 2003, only to slash funding again in 2011 under Barack Obama — ironically, over the same issue of Palestine’s membership.

The second withdrawal of the US in 2018 was again citing anti-Israel bias. Along with the US, Israel had completely stopped funding the organisation after it voted for membership of Palestine. The fund cut had deprived UNESCO of nearly a fifth of its budget, forcing it to slash programs. In 2023, after Joe Biden took over US presidency, the nation rejoined UNESCO after citing concerns that China was filling the gap left by the US in the agency’s policymaking.

Now, with Washington turning its back yet again, UNESCO faces fresh questions about funding and relevance, especially at a time when it’s playing a key role in war-hit regions like Gaza.

UNESCO has been supporting displaced children and families, helping them cope with the trauma they have been going through. According to UNESCO’s website, as many as 1,580 displaced children have received aid through UNESCO’s mental health and psychosocial support activities in shelters across Khan Younis and Rafah in the Southern Gaza Strip since the war broke out. Apart from that, 810 caregivers have taken part in psychosocial support workshops, boosting their ability to provide aid to both themselves and the children in their care.

Palestine, a member state

Palestine was added as a member state of the agency after 107 members voted in favour of it to 14 against, with 52 abstentions during UNESCO’s General Conference in 2011. Anticipating dissent from the US, UNESCO then Director-General Irina Bokova had raised concern that funding from the largest contributor may be jeopardized.

Bokov was quoted as saying in a statement by UNSECO: “I am worried we may confront a situation that could erode UNESCO as a universal platform for dialogue. I am worried for the stability of its budget.

“It is well-known that funding from our largest contributor, the United States, may be jeopardized,” she noted. “I believe it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that UNESCO does not suffer unduly as a result….”

“UNESCO’s work is too important to be jeopardised,” she said.