 |
|
May 24, 2013
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Oct 7, 2011
/ 9 Tishrei, 5772
UNESCO Vote Puts Obama to the Test
By
Jonathan Tobin
Once again the President is being forced to choose between the Israelis and the "Palestinians". This time, however, the stakes are much higher. And inaction will be illegal
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As expected, the 58-nation executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit Palestine as a full member of the organization. The move is part of the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic offensive to gain statehood from the UN without first making peace with Israel, and may be seen by some as purely symbolic. But the UNESCO vote could have serious implications for the organization as well as for the Obama administration.
U.S. law mandates that the United States must withdraw from any group that offers "full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood." That will obligate Obama, who is as dedicated a fan of the UN and agencies like UNESCO as has ever sat in the White House, to pull the plug on the flow of the American funds that make up 22 percent of the group's budget. Because Obama is reluctant to abandon UNESCO, it will be interesting to see whether he finds a way to weasel out of his legal obligations. But if he does, there may be serious political consequences.
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. | |
The United States voted against admitting the Palestinians and has pledged to work to see the measure is blocked before it is finalized by a vote of the organization's full membership later this month. But if, as is likely, Washington fails to stop it, then Obama will have a difficult choice. If the United States remains in UNESCO it will not only be illegal, it could create a political liability for a president who has been trying to convince his Jewish supporters he is a friend of Israel.
As for UNESCO, it needs to be understood the organization is already a cesspool of anti-Israel incitement. In the past few years alone, UNESCO has weighed in on behalf of bogus Palestinian claims Israel is "Judaizing" its capital Jerusalem. This year, it demanded Israel cease all archeological work in the Old City of Jerusalem, as it believes research or even renovation projects "reinforce Israeli occupation." Last year, it declared the Jewish shrines of Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron were "Muslim mosques."
If the Palestinians are given full membership in UNESCO, we can expect them to use it to advance their historical revisionist campaign in which Arab vandalism on the Temple Mount is ignored while efforts to uncover Jewish artifacts are branded illegal. As is the case with their entire UN gambit, this effort will be portrayed as an attempt to defend the Palestinians, but its true purpose will be the denial of Jewish rights.
So far, the administration has been coy about UNESCO, with State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland merely saying lawyers at Foggy Bottom are exploring the implications of the vote on U.S. financing. That's a signal Obama and Secretary of State Clinton would like to find a way to stay in UNESCO despite the clear mandate of the law. Republicans like House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are trying to pass even more stringent legislation mandating American cutoffs of aid to both the Palestinians and the UN if the statehood issue progresses.
Any deviation from his duty to pull out of the organization will mean Obama is handing the GOP yet another club to beat him with next year.
Interested in a private Judaic studies instructor — for free? Let us know by clicking here.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment by clicking here.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of Commentary magazine, in whose blog "Contentions" this first appeared.
© 2011, Jonathan Tobin
|
