President Trump announced yesterday that the U.S. will be withdrawing from Unesco. As a cultural organization under the U.N., Unesco promotes education, science and sustainable development worldwide.

"Anti-Israeli" Bias

The Trump administration cited "anti-Israeli" bias and costs among its top reasons for exiting the partnership. Heather Nauert, spokes woman for the State Department, addressed the move in a press conference yesterday. “We were in arrears to the tune of $550 million or so, and so the question is, do we want to pay that money?" she said. Nauert added that the anti-Israeli bias "needs to come to and end."

The origin of Unesco's "anti-Israeli" bias stems from its 2011 decision to grant membership to a Palestinian state. Laws passed in the '90s prohibit the U.S. from giving any money to any U.N. organization that accepts Palestine as a full member. Consequently, the U.S. ceased monetary contributions to the U.N. agency after that. Deciding on the move was a "long and deliberative" process on the part of the White House. The exit will take effect on December 31st, 2018. Such a long period of time until then means the decision could easily be revisited by the Trump administration.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu praised the U.S.'s decision. He announced that Israel will leave Unesco as well.

Unesco's director, Irina Bokova, expressed "profound regret" over the U.S.'s decision. “Universality is critical to UNESCO’s mission to strengthen international peace and security in the face of hatred and violence, to defend human rights and dignity,” she said.

The "Withdrawal Doctrine"

Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted that "Trump foreign policy has found its theme: The Withdrawal Doctrine."

The Unesco decision is indeed part of a pattern by the White House. Trump has expressed desire to remove the U.S. other international agreements, namely the Paris climate pact and the Iran deal. He has taken action to do so in both cases, although it is mostly symbolic in nature as Congress can make any final decision. Trump killed the U.S.'s involvement in the Trans Pacific Partnership and has threatened to renegotiate NAFTA.

This is not the first time the U.S. has withdrawn from the U.N. development agency. President Reagan removed U.S. membership in 1984, citing its alleged close relationship with Moscow and communist influences. In 2003, President Bush reinstated U.S. membership prior to the Iraq War.

What Does Unesco Do?

As a global development organization, Unesco pursues its mission through five pillars: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information. Unesco seeks to strengthen cultural bulwarks against extremism in developing areas like the Middle East.