While I don't object in principle to the Trump Administration withdrawing from UNESCO, I do find the timing more than a wee bit strange.
After all, it was only yesterday that Israel had convinced the Arab bloc from voting on UNESCO's perennial anti-Israel resolutions. The fact the Arab bloc had done this is a strong indication of their rapprochement due to Iran's nuclear program. Even if the vote was only delayed to April 2018 there was a chance for another delay. But with the Trump Administration having decided to withdraw from UNESCO this rapprochement could regress.
Of course, Israel subsequently withdrew from UNESCO as well. But it had little choice. In a way it reminds me of when President Obama took a hard line against so-called Israeli settlements. The Palestinian Authority wasn't calling for halt for settlement construction in East Jerusalem or portions of the West Bank that would have been transferred to Israel in any peace agreement. But when Obama called for just that the Palestinians pretty much had to go along with him.
Again I don't have much sympathy for UNESCO's anti-Israel views, its designation of Judaism's holiest sites as Palestinian and turning a blind eye to genocide in Syria. Nevertheless with the ongoing situation in Iran there was a window to put UNESCO's anti-Israel agenda on the back burner. If this wasn't happening on the ground I'd be in complete agreement with the Trump Administration's decision. But with the shifting relations between Israel and the Arab bloc, the timing of the Trump Administration's decision has now rendered that impossible and has made matters worse.
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