President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on Tuesday pointing to its anti-American and anti-Israel stances and its woke agenda, according to The New York Post.
In February, Trump initiated a 90-day assessment of America's involvement in UNESCO, emphasizing the need to investigate any antisemitism or anti-Israel attitudes within the agency. Administration officials, during this evaluation, raised concerns over UNESCO's policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as its apparent pro-Palestinian and pro-Chinese leanings, a White House official told The New York Post.
"President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November," Deputy White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated to The New York Post. "This President will always put America First and ensure our country's membership in all international organizations aligns with our national interests."
UNESCO's executive board has consistently pursued anti-Israel and anti-Jewish measures, such as classifying sites holy to Jews as "Palestinian world heritage" sites, according to a White House official. Moreover, UNESCO often employs language asserting that Palestine is "occupied" by Israel and denounces Israel's conflict with Hamas without addressing the terror group's oppressive rule in Gaza.
Trump previously directed the US to leave UNESCO in 2017, citing similar anti-Israel biases. The US rejoined in 2023 under former President Joe Biden, pledging to settle over 600 million dollars in membership fees. Israel also left the organization back then and has not rejoined.
In 1983, the US withdrew from the UN agency under former President Ronald Reagan, who noted that the organization "imposed foreign politics on nearly every issue it deals with. It showed hostility toward a free society, especially a free market and free press, and displayed unchecked budgetary growth."
