PARIS — Palestine became a full member of UNESCO on Monday in a
highly divisive breakthrough that will cost the agency a fifth of its
budget and that the U.S. and other opponents say could harm renewed
Mideast peace efforts.
Soon after the vote, the United States cut funding to the
organization because of a U.S. law that bars funding an organization
that has Palestine as a member before an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal
is reached.
That decision will have an immediate effect: The United States won't
make a $60 million payment scheduled for November, according to State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
UNESCO depends heavily on U.S. funding – Washington provides 22
percent of its budget or about $80 million a year – but has survived
without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under
President Ronald Reagan, rejoining two decades later under President
George W. Bush.
Monday's vote is a grand symbolic victory for the Palestinians, but
it alone won't make Palestine into a state. The issues of borders for an
eventual Palestinian state, security troubles and other disputes that
have thwarted Middle East peace for decades remain unresolved.
Huge cheers went up in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization after delegates approved the membership in a vote
of 107-14 with 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were needed for
approval in a hall with 173 UNESCO member delegations present. In a
surprise, France voted "yes" – and the room erupted in cheers and
applause – while the "no" votes included the United States, Israel,
Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.
"Long live Palestine!" someone shouted in the hall, in French, at the
unusually tense and dramatic meeting of UNESCO's General Conference.
Even
if the vote's impact isn't felt right away in the Mideast, it will be
quickly felt at UNESCO, which protects historic heritage sites and works
to improve world literacy, access to schooling for girls and cultural
understanding, but it also has in the past been a forum for anti-Israel
sentiment.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova welcomed the decision, but said
that she worried it could put the agency in a precarious position.
"It is my responsibility to say that I am concerned by the potential challenges that may arise to the universality and financial stability of the organization," said Bokova, who has led a drive to reform the institution. "I am worried we may confront a situation that could erode UNESCO as a universal platform for dialogue. I am worried for the stability of its budget."
Before the State Department announcement, White House spokesman Jay
Carney called UNESCO's decision "premature" and said it undermines the
international community's goal of a comprehensive Middle East peace
plan. He called it a distraction from the goal of restarting direct
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Democrats and Republicans in Washington also criticized the vote.
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, said in a statement, "Today's reckless action by UNESCO is
anti-Israel and anti-peace."
Aside from the U.S. funding cut, Israel's Foreign Ministry said it
"will consider its further ... cooperation with the organization" after
Monday's vote.
Palestinian officials are seeking full membership in the United
Nations, but that effort is still under examination and the U.S. has
pledged a veto unless there is a peace deal with Israel. Given that, the
Palestinians separately sought membership at Paris-based UNESCO. All
the efforts are part of a broader push by the Palestinian Authority
under Mahmoud Abbas for greater international recognition in recent
years.
"Joy fills my heart. This is really an historic moment," said
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. "We hope that today's victory
at UNESCO marks but a beginning. Our admission to UNESCO is not an
alternative, is no substitute for something else."
In the Gaza Strip, Abbas' rival, the militant Hamas government, also
praised the UNESCO decision, saying that Hamas' confrontational approach
toward Israel was behind the vote.
"It also indicates that the Palestinian cause is getting more support
while American policy is regressing," said Hamas official Salah
Bardawil.
UNESCO, like other U.N. agencies, is a part of the world body but has
separate membership procedures and can make its own decisions about
which countries belong. Full U.N. membership is not required for
membership in many of the U.N. agencies.
Monday's vote is definitive, and the membership formally takes effect when Palestine signs UNESCO's founding charter.
Israel's outspoken foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said before
the vote that if it passed, Israel should cut off ties with the
Palestinian Authority. It was not clear whether he was voicing an
individual opinion or government policy. He has a history of making
comments embarrassing to the prime minister.
In an address to parliament, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized the Palestinians move.
"Unfortunately, the Palestinians continue to refuse to negotiate with
us. Instead of sitting around the negotiating table, they have decided
to form an alliance with Hamas and take unilateral steps at the U.N.,
including today," Netanyahu said. He warned his government would "not
sit quietly."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is up to member states "to
ensure the United Nations system as a whole a consistent political and
financial support."
"As such, we will need to work on tactical solutions to preserve
UNESCO's financial resources," he said. He urged a negotiated solution
to Mideast peace.
Ghasan Khatib, spokesman for the Palestinian government in the West Bank, urged the United States to keep UNESCO funding.
"We look at this vote as especially important because part of our
battle with the Israeli occupation is about the occupation attempts to
erase the Palestinian history or Judaizing it. The UNESCO vote will help
us to maintain the Palestinian traditional heritage," he said.
Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, called the vote a
tragedy. "They've forced a drastic cut in contributions to the
organization," he said.
"UNESCO deals in science, not science fiction," he said. "They forced on UNESCO a political subject out of its competence."
But there are some questions I want to ask American.
1. Why America ever do against Palestine?
2. Still dispute is not solved then why America helps Israel?
3. America says that Hamas kills people, when Israeli solders kill innocent Palestinian then why not America pass a bill against Israel in his parliament?
America have no answer. But I have answer. America have "Free Masonic" ideology. This the correct answer.
