UNESCO

Can US Engagement Rescue the United Nations From Irrelevance?

The next UN leader will take office at a time when the international body is experiencing an unprecedented crisis of purpose.

America Should Rediscover the Soft Power Potential of Its Music

What made jazz – the quintessential American music – dangerous was not the sound, but the idea behind it: improvisation, spontaneity, individual voice.

Iranians Challenge the Regime by Celebrating Cyrus the Great

A tribute to an ancient and pre-Islamic king is now a form of protest against a modern Islamist theocracy. October 29 marked Cyrus the Great Day, celebrated by Iranians across the country. Though not...

7 UN Organizations That Undermine Israel and the U.S.

The Trump administration announced on July 22 its departure from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of 2026. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce...

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

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 Remains Detrimental to U.S. Interests Despite Attempts at Reform

The clock is ticking. Wednesday, March 19, marks the halfway point for the Trump administration’s 90-day review of U.S. contributions to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization...

Haute Qatar: Sheikha Moza’s Glamour Masks Doha’s Vices

Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser is revered as a champion of education, sustainability, fashion, and art. The glamorous female face of the Qatar regime — and the mother of its current emir — presents herself as a modern face of a traditional, conservative Gulf state.  ...

Destroyed by ISIS, a historic minaret in Mosul rises again

The repairs to this site which is in the old city of Mosul on the western bank of the Tigris river that runs through the city, is an important accomplishment.

Here’s how Elise Stefanik can put Trump’s America First agenda to work at the UN

The screams you heard emanating from Turtle Bay earlier this week were foreign diplomats learning that President-elect Donald Trump would appoint Rep. Elise Stefanik to be his ambassador to the...

Palestinian Statehood Bid Risks Triggering U.S. Defunding of UN

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is expected to vote on May 10 on a resolution asserting its opinion that the “State of Palestine” is qualified for UN membership. The...

U.S. Vetoes Palestinian Statehood Bid at UN

The United States on April 18 vetoed the Palestinian bid to gain full membership at the United Nations. Twelve members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) supported the...

The Urgent Need for UN Reform

The UN’s response to October 7 makes reform more urgent than ever. UN reform used to be a bipartisan priority — it must now be again.

Memo to Biden: The United Nations Won’t Love You Back

Another loss for the U.S. at the U.N. shows the folly of engaging with the body for engagement’s sake.

The New Middle East? An Israeli official goes to Riyadh while a Saudi official visits Ramallah

Here’s why things are changing so fast in Arab-Israeli relations

Abbas Calls for UN Recognition of Palestinian State

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a September 21 speech to the United Nations that the world body should recognize Palestine as the 194th member state. Abbas...

Three Years On, Secretary of State Complicates Abraham Accords Expansion

Three years after the Abraham Accords were signed by the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain, the White House’s efforts to tie normalization to the...

Saudi-Israeli peace is no pipe dream

Is a Saudi-Israeli peace deal just around the corner or still just a long-term hope? The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington and Riyadh “have agreed on the broad contours...

How to Keep Antisemitism Away From Turtle Bay

Another antisemite has turned up in the ranks of senior UN officials — this time in the body’s human rights arm, no less. Craig Mokhiber heads the New York section of the Office of the High Commissioner...

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: April

Returning to UNESCO Will Not Solve Our China Problem

The Senate Appropriations Committee is quietly advancing a change to U.S. laws that would allow the Biden administration to rejoin the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)...