69 years after joining, Israel formally leaves UNESCO

As the new year began, Israel officially left the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, despite recent efforts by the agency's head to combat its politicization and alleged anti-Israel bias. The withdrawal went into effect at midnight Paris time (1 a.m. in Israel). "UNESCO is a body that continually rewrites history, including by erasing the Jewish connection to Jerusalem," Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said on Monday. "It is corrupted and manipulated by Israel's enemies, and continually singles out the only Jewish state for condemnation. We are not going to be a member of an organization that deliberately acts against us." In October 2017, mere days after the US administration announced its withdrawal from UNESCO due to, among other things, its alleged obsession with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that he was following the US lead. "We hope that the organization will change its ways but we are not pinning hopes on this; therefore, my directive to leave the organization stands and we will move forward to carry it out," he declared a few days later. Jerusalem and Washington ignored strenuous efforts by the agency's new director-general, Audrey Azoulay, to get both countries to reconsider, including brokering compromises that saw anti-Israel resolutions delayed or softened. ******************************************************************** Israel had joined UNESCO on September 16, 1949, and is home to 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Masada, the Old City of Acre, the Bahai Temples in Haifa and the "White City" of Tel Aviv. These sites will remain on the list, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said. Photos: French Jews hold Israeli flags, as they take part at a demonstration against UNESCO, near the cultural agency's Paris headquarters, July 17, 2017 ; World Heritage Sites in Israel declared by UNESCO in the past: Masada, The Bahai Temple/Gardens in Haifa, The Old City of Acre and Tel Aviv's White City (Bauhaus modern style built in Tel Aviv mainly during the 1920-30's)

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