Palestine won its greatest international endorsement yet on Monday, full membership in UNESCO, but the move will cost the agency one-fifth of its funding and some fear it will send Mideast peace efforts off a cliff.

In an unusually dramatic session at the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, there were cheers for “yes” votes and grumbles for the “no’s” and abstentions. When the results were in, many delegates jumped to their feet and applauded and someone let out a cry of “Long live Palestine!” in French.

“Joy fills my heart. This is really a historic moment,” said Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. “It’s the return of he who was banished.”

But the jubilation was quickly pierced by reality: The United States said it wouldn’t make a $60 million payment to fill out its contributions for this year and would suspend all future funding.

UNESCO depends heavily on that money - Washington provides 22% of its budget - but has survived without it in the past: The United States pulled out of UNESCO under President Ronald Reagan, rejoining two decades later under President George W Bush.

Monday’s vote was a grand symbolic victory for the Palestinians, but it alone won’t make Palestine a state. The issues of borders for an eventual Palestinian state, security, a solution for Palestinian refugees, the fate of Jerusalem and other disputes that have thwarted Middle East peace for decades remain unresolved. Some argued it would even make it harder for the Palestinians to reach their goal.

White House spokesman Jay Carney called UNESCO’s decision “premature” and said it undermines the international community’s efforts toward a comprehensive Middle East peace plan. He called it a distraction from the goal of restarting direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israeli Ambassador Nimrod Barkan said the decision did “a great disservice to international law and to chances for peace.”

“UNESCO deals in science, not science fiction,” he said in a speech to delegates after the vote. “However, a large number of member states, though most emphatically less than two-thirds of the member states of this organization, have adopted a science fiction version of reality.” <---this is an @$$hole talking

His government said it was reconsidering its cooperation with UNESCO.

The request to grant Palestine full membership passed 107-14, with 52 abstentions. Eighty-one votes were needed for approval - or two-thirds of the 173 eligible member delegations present. There are now 195 members in all.

In a surprise, France voted “yes” - and the room erupted in cheers. They were joined by Ireland, Austria and the Arab states. The “no” votes included the United States, Israel, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany, while many American allies abstained, including Japan, Britain and New Zealand.

Monday’s vote is definitive, and the membership formally takes effect when Palestine signs UNESCO’s founding charter.

It is part of a broader Palestinian quest for greater international recognition in hopes of moving closer to statehood through channels other than simply negotiations with Israel.

There, however, are concerns that strategy could backfire. Before the vote, Israel’s outspoken foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said that if the measure passed, Israel should cut off ties with the Palestinian Authority. It was not clear whether he was voicing government policy.

By contrast, Malki said he hoped the vote would only provide momentum for the Palestinians’ quest for statehood. But he added that it was no substitute for the Palestinians’ more high-profile request for admission to the United Nations.

The Obama administration has vowed to use its veto power in the Security Council to quash Palestinian membership in the broader U.N., but had been hoping it wouldn’t come to that since wielding its veto could undermine the United States’ typically pivotal role as negotiator between Israel and the Palestinians.

However, Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, indicated Monday that he thought he had enough support to win a Security Council vote, which has not yet been scheduled.

UNESCO, like many U.N. agencies, is a part of the world body but has separate membership procedures and can make its own decisions about which countries belong. The disconnect between memberships is rare but not unprecedented. Two tiny Pacific island nations - the Cook Islands and Niue - are members of UNESCO but not the U.N., while Liechtenstein belongs to the larger world body but not the cultural agency.

Even if the vote’s impact isn’t felt right away in the Mideast, it will be quickly felt at UNESCO, which protects historic heritage sites and works to improve world literacy, access to schooling for girls and cultural understanding. One of the first concrete results of Palestine’s membership could be that the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is listed as a world heritage site; the Palestinians have already prepared an application for the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

In addition to the reduction in funding, the vote will also set back UNESCO’s efforts in recent years to shed its image as an anti-Israeli agency. When the U.S. pulled out of UNESCO in the 1980s, it was to protest the passage of a resolution equating Zionism with racism.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has been at the forefront of remaking the agency’s image, and she expressed concern about the vote’s effect.

“It is my responsibility to say that I am concerned by the potential challenges that may arise to the universality and financial stability of the organization,” Bokova said. “I am worried we may confront a situation that could erode UNESCO as a universal platform for dialogue. I am worried for the stability of its budget.”

While the U.S. has cut off funding - which typically amounts to $80 million annually - Washington has said it will remain a member, though if it fails to pay its dues for two years, it will lose its vote.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was up to member states “to ensure the United Nations system as a whole consistent political and financial support.”

“As such, we will need to work on tactical solutions to preserve UNESCO’s financial resources,” he said, while urging a negotiated solution to Mideast peace.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/v...-u-s-cuts-funds

This just shows that the Japanese government is a puppet to the West. Why would Japan not support Palestinian statehood? Palestine has done nothing to Japan.

At least China took the moral route supported Palestinian statehood.

at least they didn't straight up vote no. shows they still know the right vote but are scared of americans.

tiny Israel commands the world. at least they don't command China, not yet.

lol 107 countries voted directly against israel's wishes. how exactly do they control the world?

I don't like China always sided with the looser side, china should sided with the winners, USA and Israel, those looser not exactly good or right people either....they just being nice to china cuz they are loosing it........china is not being smart.......and why is this anti jews thing in chinese chat? shouldn't it be in other culture? can the mod do its job?

Most of the countries that voted against Isreal were non-western, non-white countries. Israel controls the most "important" and powerful countries like the US.

the important countries eh.

like palau and samoa? maybe solomon islands and vanuatu?



No: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sweden, US, Vanuatu.



How Unesco countries voted on Palestinian membership
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/0...p?newsfeed=true


why joke, some of these countries ive heard for the very first time.



heres some of the Yes: all BRICS countries and France

+1

The Day Japan votes against the U.S. is the Japan is free.

wow... this is the first time i have a clear view of the political alliance. although most "yes" are mostly developing countries and it is intriguing to to know many of them side with Palestine.

on the other hand, the USA's allies are all developed, powerful. even the 52 abstentions are doing it to avoid conflicts. it seems the world alliance is heading toward BRICS vs G7 (minus russia). france is an odd ball there btw.

Funny how Korea and Japan both declined to vote...I would say the US/Israel has a HUGE impact on their government.

But it also shows that new alliances are forming and some countries cannot be bought.

why you obsess over what korea/japan are doing? leave them alone.

This thread should be moved or locked.

^german guy, most fearful of jews in the world.

both the israelis and palestinians can fu-k right off. i don't give a $hit about what happens to either one of them.

their conflict shouldn't be any more important/remarkable than say, the conflicts in sri lanka, kashimir, or sudan.

it's absurd how much attention they receive and the global impact they have. how countries are stockpiling nukes and threatening each with annihilation over that $hitty little desert wasteland. all because it's some "holy land".

fu-kin religion. it's the worst invention of humanity.

^invention of semitic peoples.



some Israeli diplomat had an explanation. He thought the developed countries had "a certain kind of morality" to require them to support Israel.............

The West don't control the world, they just troublemaker.

Day by day, people around the world are more aware about his rights, equality and freedom.

And resist Western will, unless there are mutual interest.




Lost right to vote because membership fees were not paid???

The problem is, the west views Islam and Socialism/Communism as the major threats to their power. So they're going to do anything they can to stop these vehicles of their destruction from gaining any form of power and influence. They speak to the oppressed and are dangerous motivators for rebellion.

I have no problem with Jewish people, most Jews are not the ones "who hold the reigns". I do have a problem with the "Zionist System" geared toward benefiting only the Elite Merchant Class.

Although the Anglo-American masterminds are Freemasons/Illuminati, the Zionists are not REAL Jews. These banking families and their evil cohorts took Jewish names centuries ago to delude the anti-semetic masses into the Jews are the problem. The British Monarchy, the Freemasons and the Jesuits plan all this $hit...NOT the Jews!!

I don't blame Jews. I blame the zionists - there's a difference. I often wonder if we are being tricked as well. But it's most likely that the "zionists" are a group of Jews AND Gentiles (all white) who control things. How else do you explain the grasp Israel has on the US?

Pretty much anyone in the "corporatocry" (Elite Bankers, Business Owners, Politicians, Generals, Economists etc) is part of a loose-knit "fraternity" who watch out for each others interests. It is probably 80-90% white but I wouldn't say all white.

You'd be surprised how powerful some of these Iranian/Saudi oil barons are (Basically the traitors of the Muslim world if I'm not mistaken), I would venture to say they are a more important "piece" of the Western empire than the Zionists.

I don't necessarily think there is as close an association as some would like to claim (Dark Cabals etc.), but Shadow Governments HAVE happened before. So it wouldn't surprise me either.