Education Minister Aharon Yadlin said today that UNESCO “continues to show bias and discrimination” toward Israel. “It appears that UNESCO has not managed to extricate itself from Arab pressure.” Yadlin referred to two resolutions adopted by UNESCO’s Executive Board at a meeting in Paris last Friday to exclude Israel from educational conferences in the Mediterranean area.
The meetings are planned for 1975 and 1976 to draft a treaty to assure mutual recognition among Mediterranean countries of diplomas from each country. The votes came on lists of countries to be invited to the conference, Each of the 17 countries has a Mediterranean coastline. The votes were 25-1 and 28-1. The United States cast the only negative votes and Norway abstained.
Yadlin said that the high standards of Israel’s academic institutions are well known throughout the world and it was improbable that Israeli students would be affected by Israel’s non-participation in the conferences. He added that despite this latest anti-Israel resolution, he was certain that the struggle of scientists and intellectuals everywhere against the politicization of UNESCO would continue.
The UNESCO Executive Board met as a committee of the whole and the votes are not final. But it is believed unlikely that there will be a reversal when the Board holds its regular meeting later this month.
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