This is the second time Washington has withdrawn from UNESCO since 2011, following the agency’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state
JUL 22, 2025
Washington announced on 22 July that it will withdraw the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing its inclusion of Palestine as a member state.
“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement, describing the organization as having a “continuing anti-Israel bias.”
Nauert said the decision “was not taken lightly,” adding that the United States would seek to remain engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer “to contribute US views, perspectives and expertise.”
The move came years after UNESCO’s 2011 vote to admit Palestine as a full member state, a decision opposed by former US president Barack Obama.
US funding to the agency was frozen immediately after the vote, in accordance with US laws—specifically the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1990 and Section 414 of the 1994 Appropriations Act—which prohibit aid to any UN body that recognizes Palestinian statehood.
In subsequent years, Washington cited a series of UNESCO resolutions it claimed were biased against Israel, including one that criticized Israeli activity in occupied East Jerusalem and another that inscribed the Old City of Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, as a Palestinian World Heritage site.
Trump formally notified UNESCO of the withdrawal in 2017, which took effect at the end of 2018, before the US rejoined the agency under Biden in 2023.
The withdrawal was part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to defund UN agencies seen as hostile to Israeli interests. Previously, the US had frozen all funding to UNESCO following the 2011 vote on Palestine.
Official records describe the move as driven by “political disputes related to Israel and Palestine.”
Similar justifications were used to cut funds from other agencies, including UNRWA and the UN Human Rights Council, reinforcing a pattern of using funding as leverage against perceived anti-Israel bias in multilateral institutions.
thecradle.co
JUL 22, 2025
Washington announced on 22 July that it will withdraw the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), citing its inclusion of Palestine as a member state.
“Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement, describing the organization as having a “continuing anti-Israel bias.”
Nauert said the decision “was not taken lightly,” adding that the United States would seek to remain engaged with UNESCO as a non-member observer “to contribute US views, perspectives and expertise.”
The move came years after UNESCO’s 2011 vote to admit Palestine as a full member state, a decision opposed by former US president Barack Obama.
US funding to the agency was frozen immediately after the vote, in accordance with US laws—specifically the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1990 and Section 414 of the 1994 Appropriations Act—which prohibit aid to any UN body that recognizes Palestinian statehood.
In subsequent years, Washington cited a series of UNESCO resolutions it claimed were biased against Israel, including one that criticized Israeli activity in occupied East Jerusalem and another that inscribed the Old City of Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, as a Palestinian World Heritage site.
Trump formally notified UNESCO of the withdrawal in 2017, which took effect at the end of 2018, before the US rejoined the agency under Biden in 2023.
The withdrawal was part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to defund UN agencies seen as hostile to Israeli interests. Previously, the US had frozen all funding to UNESCO following the 2011 vote on Palestine.
Official records describe the move as driven by “political disputes related to Israel and Palestine.”
Similar justifications were used to cut funds from other agencies, including UNRWA and the UN Human Rights Council, reinforcing a pattern of using funding as leverage against perceived anti-Israel bias in multilateral institutions.
US withdraws from UNESCO over ‘anti-Israel bias’
This is the second time Washington has withdrawn from UNESCO since 2011, following the agency’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state
thecradle.co
