UNESCO chief receives Israel’s withdrawal notice

International Desk: Israel has formally notified the UN’s culture and education body of its withdrawal from the organization, two months after it announced it would follow the US by walking out over resolutions critical of the Jewish state.

In a statement UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said she had been officially notified on Friday that Israel would leave on December 31, 2018.

“I regret this deeply, as it is my conviction that it is inside UNESCO and not outside it that states can best seek to overcome differences in the organization’s fields of competence,” she said.

Azoulay’s announcement came after Israel scrambled to ensure it wouldn’t be forced to remain in the organization for an extra year due to concerns it wouldn’t be able to file the necessary paperwork on time.

In a statement Thursday, Israel’s envoy to UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen said that he had made a last-ditch attempt to submit a formal letter announcing Israel’s intent to leave the organization, showing up at the door of the cultural agency’s Paris offices with a box of chocolates along with the paperwork. But he couldn’t find anyone willing to sign for receipt, as the offices were closed for the year-end holidays.

However, the Israeli notice was able to reach Azoulay in the end.

A week ago Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would leave the organization, two months after the US formally announced its own withdrawal — partly due to UNESCO’s anti-Israel bias.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/December 30, 2017/A K Azad