Obama administration gets one right – defunds UNESCO over anti-Israel action … but

November 2, 2011 04:58


U.N. delegates are witnessing is a U.S. administration praising UNESCO, regretting the funding cut-off, and implying that U.S. officials are toiling behind the scenes to find workarounds to continue supporting UNESCO. – Forbes

By Claudia Rosett at Forbes

EXCERPTS:

Overall, U.S. dues account for 22% of UNESCO’s budget, plus the U.S. throws in millions in voluntary contributions on top. A U.S. cutoff should mean that UNESCO will lose about $80 million per year.

Instead, the U.S. diplomatic message to UNESCO has been one of apology, regrets and fawning statements of support for a U.N. body that has just slapped the U.S. in the chops. U.S officials have even been hinting that they are looking for some kind of workaround, to get the money flowing again.

On Oct. 18, with the vote already looming, and the Palestinians fielding a clear majority at the impending assembly, the U.S. tipped $1.77 million in voluntary, extra-budgetary funding into UNESCO’s till. The U.S. Mission to UNESCO is now advertising on its web site that $250,000 of that sum was for Holocaust Education; but the additional $1.52 million went for other UNESCO programs, accompanied by a statement that the U.S. is committed to “combating racism and racial discrimination” — codewords at the U.N. for a host of anti-Semitic initiatives spearheaded by the Israel-trashing “Durban Process.”

FULL ARTICLE



Help Make A Difference By Sharing These Articles On Facebook, Twitter And Elsewhere: