Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had turned down an invitation on Wednesday to a UNESCO conference on anti-Semitism during a visit to New York, over its “egregious bias” against the Jewish state.
Israel withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2017, accusing it of adopting anti-Israeli policies, following the lead of the United States.
“While I commend all efforts to combat anti-Semitism, I have decided not to participate in this weeks UNESCO conference on anti-Semitism due to the organizations persistent and egregious bias against Israel,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister, who is currently in New York to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly, said that UNESCO “must do more than host a conference on anti-Semitism. It must stop practicing anti-Semitism.”
While not directly addressing Netanyahus no-show at the conference, UNESCOs head said that education was the best way to combat intolerance and discrimination.
“Antisemitism undermines fundamental rights in general,” the organizations director-general Audrey Azoulay said at the conference.
“To address it is to defend fundamental freedoms. It is to defend the equal dignity of all human beings.”
SHOW MORE
Last Update: Thursday, 27 September 2018 KSA 06:38 – GMT 03:38
