The United States government has announced plans to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, accusing it of promoting anti-Israel rhetoric.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement on Tuesday that UNESCO’s inclusion of Palestine as a member in 2011 was highly problematic. She said the move fueled anti-Israel sentiments within the organization.
Bruce stated, “Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.” She also said the agency follows a globalist, ideological agenda that goes against the US government’s America First policy.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the decision, saying on X that it was a necessary step. He wrote that Israel has been unfairly singled out by UNESCO and that politicization by member states must stop.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay rejected the accusations, saying the claims of anti-Israel bias contradict the agency’s work. She said UNESCO has been active in Holocaust education and fighting antisemitism across 85 countries.
Azoulay said, “UNESCO will continue to carry out these missions, despite inevitably reduced resources.” She added that the agency had already diversified its funding, and the US now contributes just eight percent of its total budget.
This is the second time the US is pulling out of UNESCO. The Trump administration first withdrew in 2017 over similar concerns. The Biden administration later rejoined in 2023.
The US is expected to remain a full member of UNESCO until the withdrawal takes effect on December 31, 2026.
