When the Israeli representative told UNESCO envoys last July that unclogging his toilet was more important than their latest decision, it highlights how conflicting geopolitics paralyze the agency’s work.
Whoever succeeds Irina Bokova next week as head of the UN’s cultural and educational body will have to try to preserve the importance of an agency born from the ashes of World War II, which is increasingly struggling to operate due to regional rivalries and lack of funds.
Among UNESCO’s successes is the designation of World Heritage sites such as the Galapagos Islands and the historic tombs of Timbuktu, restored with UNESCO funds after being destroyed by Islamic militants.
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But as relations have become toxic, the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Western leaders at the UN General Assembly last month that UNESCO promotes “false history” illustrates the situation.
Like Israeli representative Carmel Shama Hacohen, Netanyahu spoke about UNESCO’s designation of Hebron and two associated holy sites at its heart – the Jewish Cave of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque – on the list of “endangered Palestinian World Heritage sites.”
Jews believe that the Cave of the Patriarchs is the burial site of Isaac, Jacob, and their wives. Muslims, who like Christians also revere Abraham, built the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as Abraham’s Sanctuary, in the 14th century.
The decision also placed Hebron on UNESCO’s list of “endangered sites,” which allows for the allocation of funds from the World Heritage Fund, designed to alert the international community to endangered locations.
