Trump Admin Ditches UNESCO, Says It’s A Hotbed Of Woke And Anti-Israel Propaganda

The Trump administration announced that the United States was withdrawing from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday, claiming that remaining is “not in the national interest of the United States.”

“UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy,” State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

The move comes as the Trump administration continues to shift its priorities and resources away from international-focused groups that are accused of pursuing anti-American agendas. Trump also cut funding or participation to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in February.

Bruce also said the United States took issue with UNESCO admitting the “State of Palestine” as a member state, claiming the move was “highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization.”

The United States will remain a member of UNESCO until December 31, 2026.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told the New York Post that the decision to leave UNESCO came because the organization supports “woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November.

Trump withdrew the United States from UNESCO in 2017 during his first term, citing anti-Israel bias. Shortly after starting his second term, in February, Trump ordered a 90-day review of UNESCO membership, directing officials to examine the organization for any signs of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel bias.

UNESCO has faced several controversies over allegations of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias, including the designation of the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, built by King Herod in the 1st century BCE, as a “Palestinian World Heritage Site.” In 2016, UNESCO passed the Occupied Palestine Resolution, which omitted any mention of the Jewish historical connection to the Temple Mount and referred to it solely by its Muslim name, “Al-Haram al-Sharif.”

UNESCO has also been accused of being used as a tool by China — which is the second-largest funder — and being “woke” for its social justice-focused projects, including its 2023 “anti-racism toolkit” and its 2024 “Transforming MEN’talities” initiative.

Eugene Kontorovich, an international law professor at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, told The Daily Wire that UNESCO was “beyond reform.”

“President Trump was right to end America’s relationship with UNESCO, which has proven itself beyond reform — not just because of its deep and anti-Israel bias, but mostly because it’s championship of work and progressive policies that go against American values,” Kontorovich, who is also a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said.

Kontorovich added that the United States isn’t a “proper” member of UNESCO, since former President Joe Biden did not get congressional authorization for rejoining in 2023.