Trump Admin Pulls US from UN Agency Due to ‘Proliferation of Anti-Israel Rhetoric’
The United States has announced it will withdraw once again from UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational, scientific, and cultural agency, citing perceived anti-Israel bias. This marks the third time the U.S. has left UNESCO, and the second time during a Trump administration. The withdrawal follows concerns over UNESCO’s decision to admit Palestine as a member state and its agenda promoting divisive social and cultural causes, which contradict U.S. policy. The departure will take effect at the end of December 2026. Although the U.S. has historically been a significant financial contributor to UNESCO, the agency has diversified its funding sources and currently receives only about 8% of its budget from the U.S., enabling it to manage despite the withdrawal. The U.S. previously exited UNESCO in 2017 under President Trump and in 1984 during the Reagan administration due to management and political concerns, rejoining in 2003 under President George W. Bush and returning again in 2023 under President Biden.
The United States announced Tuesday it will again pull out of the U.N.’s educational, scientific, and cultural agency because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias, only two years after rejoining.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the withdrawal was linked to UNESCO’s perceived agenda to “advance divisive social and cultural causes.”
She added in a statement that UNESCO’s decision “to admit the ‘State of Palestine’ as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.”
This will be the third time that the United States has left UNESCO, which is based in Paris, and the second time during a Trump administration.
President Donald Trump had already pulled out during his first term, and the United States returned after a five-year absence when the Biden administration applied to rejoin the organization.
The decision will take effect at the end of December 2026.
The decision will come as no surprise to UNESCO officials, who had anticipated such a move following the specific review ordered by the Trump administration earlier this year.
They also expected that Trump would pull out again, since the return of the U.S. in 2023 had been promoted by a political rival, former President Joe Biden.
The U.S withdrawal is likely to affect UNESCO because the U.S. provides a notable of the agency’s budget.
But the organization should be able to cope. UNESCO has diversified its funding sources in recent years, and the U.S. contribution has decreased, representing only 8 percent of the agency’s total budget.
The Trump administration in 2017 announced that the U.S. would withdraw from UNESCO, citing anti-Israel bias. That decision took effect a year later.
The U.S. and Israel stopped financing UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member state in 2011.
The United States previously pulled out of UNESCO under the Reagan administration in 1984 because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt, and used to advance the interests of the Soviet Union.
It rejoined in 2003 during George W. Bush’s presidency.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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