More than 100 intellectuals including five Nobel Prize winners are due to meet in Paris this week to protest against UNESCO’s recent anti-Israel resolutions. The sponsors of the conference include the five Nobel Prize winners, writers, scientists and parliamentarians. Among them are writer Ignazio Silone; the late Sir Julian Huxley; Lord Goodman; the president of Notre Dame University, Father Theodore Hesburgh; and Nobel Prize winners Kenneth Arrow; Gerhard Herzberg; Eyvind Johnson; and Andre Wolff.
The conference, which is due to be held on March 15, has been called to protest the anti-Israel votes "which violated the spirit of (the UNESCO) convention and which constitute a discriminatory act of a political nature contrary to the organization’s aims and mission," The conference invitation adds, "It is necessary to prevent UNESCO from compromising its identity and universality by giving in to power politics."
The protest conference will be held about a week before the UNESCO Executive Commission is due to meet in Paris to review the organization’s financial situation which UNESCO sources describe as "catastrophic." The organization traditionally suffers from a chronic deficit which has become far worse since the U.S. Congress’ decision to suspend American financial participation, Several other countries including Switzerland, have reduced their contributions as a result of the UNESCO anti-Israel vote.
SEEKING COMPROMISE ON ISRAEL
UNESCO’s newly elected Director General Amadou Moukhtar M’Bow has tried over the last few weeks to secure loans or other financial contributions in Eastern Europe and the Arab world to fill the expected $25 million deficit for the current year. UNESCO sources say that his quest has been unfruitful and that the Director General hopes "a compromise" solution will be found.
According to these sources, such a solution could consist of asking the Executive Commission to propose a constitutional change under which member states in a definite zone, and they alone, will vote on what country will become a member of their particular region. Such a change, would enable Israel to join the European zone without forcing the Arabs and the African states or the members of the East European bloc to change their anti-Israel stand.
M’Bow, these sources told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, also intends to inform the Executive Commission that Israel is prepared to "cooperate" over Jerusalem and that "it is imperative to have a UNESCO presence" in that city. Should M’Bow’s views, as reported by UNESCO circles prevail, the Executive Commission will make specific recommendations to the Executive Council due to meet here in June. The Council could then call for an extraordinary UNESCO session later this year,
The sponsors of the March 15th conference hope that the voices of over 100 intellectuals from practically all over the Western world, will help the Executive Commission adopt a realistic and constructive approach true to the organization’s aims. Among these due to attend are French writers Eugene Ionesco and Raymond Aron; American writer James Michener; musicians Isaac Stern and Arthur Rubinstein; cinema directors Dore Schary and Carl Foreman; and British writers Stephen Spender, Lynne Reid-Banks and Alan Sillitoe.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
