Four years have passed since Israel left the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, slamming the door behind it. Israel withdrew from UNESCO in a show of solidarity with the United States after it made the decision to quit the UN body. Both countries left in response to anti-Israel, politically motivated resolutions passed by the organization, which was originally established to handle purely professional educational and scientific issues. The Arabs and their supporters succeeded in changing UNESCO's objectives and turning it into yet another Israel-slandering organization.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Now, however, the US is seriously contemplating ending its boycott. Israel, at this stage, is now also weighing such a move, and rightfully so. The four years in which Israel boycotted the organization did nothing to change its anti-Israel behavior. Neither the US's nor Israel's withdrawal did anything to make UNESCO reconsider its conduct or effect change in its pattern of adopting shameful resolutions.
A continued boycott of UNESCO is unlikely to change the current reality. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, whose father is the Jewish senior adviser to King Mohammed VI of Morocco, was unsuccessful in her efforts to bring about the requested change. Abandoning the arena to our enemies has emboldened their unruly behavior because there is no one to stop them.
It turns out that this situation does not serve the interests of either Israel or the US. Just as you don't abandon a military post to your enemies, bitter as they may be, so too don't you stay away from such a hostile organization. Better to fight to influence things from the inside than yield the territory to Israel's detractors. The argument that understandings must be reached on the totality of our relationship with the Palestinian Authority before Israel returns to UNESCO are impractical. The PA wants to hurt us any way they can, so it won't give up on such an important organization that has repeatedly adopted resolutions that were tough on Israel.
The problem lies with the UN mechanisms. If Jerusalem were to quit every time an anti-Israel resolution was adopted, we'd soon find ourselves outside the UN completely. That is not the kind of situation we want to be in. If the US returns to UNESCO, and all the signs point to that being the case, Israel cannot remain outside on its own. It will follow the US's lead and rejoin the UN body.
As a matter of fact, there are many countries that are not exactly impressed by UNESCO's anti-Israel resolutions. The resolutions are not binding, and they have no impact on the ground. When we reach an agreement with the Palestinians, the situation at UNESCO will change, so today's resolutions can be overturned tomorrow.
In light of all this, the usefulness of being a UNESCO member outweighs the benefits of not being familiar with what happening on the inside. When you're on the inside, you have a presence: You fight Israel's detractors, enlist supporters, and enlist your allies' help in canceling anti-Israel resolutions. You can also propose your own resolutions.
And there are other options: The Middle East is changing before our eyes. Relationships with Arab states are being forged. Israel is being courted. All of this will influence UN organizations like UNESCO one of these days because Arab states are beginning to realize Israel is the solution and not the problem. We will therefore get a hold of our justified anger at UNESCO, take only our interests into consideration, and inform Washington that should they decide to rejoin, in a show of solidary, we will do the same.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
