‘Not in the National Interest’: U.S. Withdraws from UNESCO

Latest Developments

U.S. Withdraws from UN Agency: The State Department announced on July 22 that the United States was withdrawing from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,” said State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, adding 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.” The withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2026, until which time the United States will remain a full member of UNESCO.
Second Withdrawal Under Trump: In 2011, the United States under President Barack Obama withheld funding from UNESCO after it admitted the “State of Palestine” as a full member state. The United States then withdrew from the organization in 2017 during President Donald Trump’s first term, but the Biden administration reversed the decision in 2023. Bruce stated that the agency was “at odds” with the Trump administration’s “America First foreign policy” and that it advanced “divisive social and cultural causes.”
Israel Embraces Move, Director-General Pushes Back: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed “the U.S. administration’s decision to withdraw from UNESCO,” calling the move a “necessary step, designed to promote justice and Israel’s right for fair treatment in the UN system” and thanking the United States for its “moral support and leadership.” Meanwhile, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay called the U.S. announcement “regrettable,” adding that “the reasons put forward by the United States to withdraw from the organization are the same as seven years ago, even though the situation has changed profoundly, political tensions have receded and UNESCO today constitutes a rare forum for consensus on concrete and action-oriented multilateralism.”

FDD Expert Response

“The Trump administration made the right call by pulling out of UNESCO. The Biden administration’s decision to reengage with the flawed UN agency was a mistake. Biden’s overall UN policy of engagement and appeasement did not advance U.S. goals at Turtle Bay. It just continued to throw U.S. tax dollars at a corrupt and anti-Western organization that is in dire need of radical reform.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“UNESCO has consistently promoted Palestinian interests at Israel’s expense. The UN body refers to Judaism’s holiest places exclusively by their Islamic names and has declared Jewish sites in the Holy Land to be Palestinian heritage sites. UNESCO has also clashed with the United States — and with reality — by becoming the first UN body to recognize the Palestinian representation as a full member state. But it does not end with UNESCO. Anti-Israel bias is baked into the walls at the United Nations.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“Institutions that are tasked with encouraging educational understanding have been captured by ideologies that sow division. Unfortunately, we’re seeing a similar pattern in our educational institutions in the United States, where foreign influence has contributed to the justification of terrorism against Jews.” — Brandy Shufutinsky, Education and National Security Program Director