President Donald Trump’s administration has announced that the US will end its involvement in the United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the decision to recognize Palestine as a member.
The decision to leave the agency announced Tuesday is to take effect in December 2026.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce argued that UNESCO membership was not in the US “national interest,” calling the agency’s mission “division.”
She then pointed out several discrepancies, including her asserting Palestinian participation in UNESCO and “anti-Israel” sentiments of its class. Palestine has been a member since 2011, but the United States does not recognize it as a sovereign nation.
“Recognizing the ‘Palestine’ as a member state was extremely problematic against US policy and helped spread anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization,” Bruce said.
Bruce also denounced UNESCO’s commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including calls to reduce poverty, increase gender equity and combat climate change. These goals are evidence of a “globalist, ideological agenda,” she said.
This is the second time Trump has withdrawn the US from UNESCO.
In 2018, during his first term, the United States similarly left the agency. Then, as it is now, the Trump administration cited its prejudice against Israel as motives.
In 2023, the United States rejoined UNESCO under then-President Joe Biden. However, since taking office in January, Trump has slashed out his Biden-era initiative and tried to limit US support for several international organizations.
Already, he retracted US support for the World Health Organization (WHO) and issued an executive order in February to cut funds to the UN Human Rights Council, accusing them of protecting “human rights abusers.”
That same order published a review of UNESCO’s US membership, completed in 90 days, with emphasis on whether the agency engaged in “anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment.”
Trump pursued the “America First” agenda in his second term, and White House spokesman Anna Kelly constituted the latest withdrawal from UNESCO to advance that cause.
“President Trump has decided to withdraw from UNESCO, in favor of awakened, divisive cultural and social causes,” Kelly wrote on social media.
“The President always puts America first. Membership in all international organizations must be consistent with our national interests.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saa responded on social media that the US decision to leave UNESCO is another indication that his country is being treated unfairly on the international stage.
“This is a necessary step and is designed to promote justice and Israel’s rights to fair treatment in the UN system. “The selection of Israel and politicization by member states must end with this and all specialized UN agencies.”
He thanked the United States for “moral support and leadership” and called on the United Nations to take on “fundamental reform.”
However, UNESCO challenged the accusations that it had unfairly treated one of its members.
“UNESCO’s purpose is to welcome all countries in the world, and the United States is always welcome,” said UNESCO Director Audrey Azurey.
She added that the US government’s decision to withdraw is not unexpected, but that Trump’s decision would not end UNESCO’s involvement with other US organizations.
“We will continue to work with all American partners, including the private sector, academia and nonprofits, and pursue political dialogue with the US administration and Congress,” Azurey said.
She estimated that only about 8% of governmental agencies’ budgets are dependent on the US. Staff cuts are not expected as a result of the US withdrawal.
The United States has been acting as Israel’s leading diplomatic advocate for decades, putting pressure on international groups they recognize as important to their Middle Eastern allies.
However, the United States itself has faced a growing scrutiny of its support since the start of Israeli war in Gaza in October 2023.
The war killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, and UN experts have called Israeli tactics “conforming to genocide.”
Israel’s continued lockdown of essential supply to Gaza has prompted a fear of hunger among UN leaders.
“We don’t need to know that food and medicine are leaving just minutes across the border to know that Gaza’s hunger declaration means that people are already starving and dying of illness,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization, in May.
During the 24-hour period on Tuesday, Palestinian health officials estimated that 15 people had died of starvation.
However, the United States has been unwavering in supporting Israeli military campaigns in Gaza despite continued humanitarian concerns.
Last month, the Trump administration announced sanctions targeting International Criminal Court judges involved in a probe that investigated possible abuse by Israel and the US military. The United States also approved Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for Palestinian Territories, which was occupied in July.
