Tag Archives: unesco

International, U.S.

World War 3: UN recognizes Palestine. U.S. & Israel retaliate by cutting funding for UN

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) granted Palestine full UN membership on October 31!

The United States quickly retaliated against the UN by refusing to pay the U.S. share of funding for UNESCO.  Israel also ended its funding of UNESCO.

Palestine is now the 195th member of the U.S. created organization known as the United Nations.  Ironically, the UN has become something the U.S. doesn’t want to belong to, anymore (I guess the U.S. doesn’t want to play by the very rules it helped to create!).

The total amount of funding that UNESCO will lose, from the U.S. and Israel, is about one quarter its yearly budget.

The move by the U.S. is not a knee jerk reaction.  The pro-Israeli U.S. Congress created laws back in 1990s that stated if Palestine ever became a member of the UN, then the U.S. would end its funding.  Today, both Republicans and Democrats, in the U.S. Congress, denounced the UNESCO decision.

Who abstained from the UNESCO vote?  United Kingdom (Britain), Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Switzerland, Romania and Latvia.

Who voted against recognizing Palestine?  United States, Germany, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands and Israel.

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: United Nations closer to recognizing Palestine as full member, Arab hater Hillary Clinton warns UNESCO of decision

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has voted to recommend Palestine for full membership.  According to Israeli media, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a warning: “I…would urge the governing body of UNESCO to think again before proceeding with that vote because the decision about status must be made in the United Nations and not in auxiliary groups that are subsidiary to the United Nations.”

The United States has threatened to stop paying its portion of UNESCO funding if it recognizes Palestine as a full member.

UNESCO has the authority to give a country full membership, even if the state is not recognized by the United Nations Security Council.

UNESCO has 58 members.  40 voted in favor of putting the Palestinian matter to a vote.  14 abstained.  The United States, Germany, Romania and Latvia voted no.

The U.S. has also threatened to end financial aid going to Palestinians, if they become a UN recognized state.  Many Israelis are worried that the U.S. will use that to justify ending financial aid to Israel as well.  Aid to Palestinians is a drop in the bucket compared to what the U.S. gives Israel.