UPDATES

UNESCO: Palestine – in, Freedom of Speech – out

Nov 15, 2011 | Or Avi Guy

UNESCO: Palestine -  in
news_item/1419963507.jpg

Eric Falt, assistant director general for external relations and public information at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has issued an official letter of protest from UNESCO’s director general, Irina Bokova regarding a cartoon which UNESCO claimed constituted incitement.

This could have been an encouraging sign that UNESCO is finally acting against incitement, racism and specifically antisemitism prevalent in Arab and Muslim media, especially in the state-sponsored press. However, the cartoon that so inflamed UNESCO officials was published in Haaretz, an Israeli independent newspaper, which is protected under Israel’s laws regarding freedom of the press. Moreover, the only incitement that seemed to concern UNESCO is incitement against UNESCO.

The cartoon (published on November 4) clearly was meant to satirise, not UNESCO, but the Israeli government’s anger at the acceptance of the Palestinian Authority as a full member of UNESCO. It depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak sending an air force squadron to attack Iran, with Netanyahu ordering, “And on your way back, you’re gonna hit the UNESCO office in Ramallah!”

Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, Nimrod Barkan, was called in by Falt in order to “tell him off” and hand him the letter of protest. In the meeting, Falt told Barkan that “A cartoon like this endangers the lives of unarmed diplomats, and you have an obligation to protect them… We understand that there is freedom of the press in Israel, but the government must prevent attacks on UNESCO.”

It seems that UNESCO senior officials not only lack a sense of satire, but also do not fully understand the meaning of freedom of speech or the press, contrary to what Falt might say. otherwise they would not have urged government intervention in the publications of an independent media outlet, nor that UNESCO be essentially protected from criticism. As ambassador Barkan explained, the Israeli government has no control over editorial cartoons. He added a little satirical barb of his own when he replied to Falt “Ask yourselves what you did to make a moderate paper with a deeply internationalist bent publish such a cartoon. Perhaps the problem is with you.”

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also baffled by the surprising letter of protest, and their response to Barkan stated: “What exactly does UNESCO want of us – to send our fine boys to protect UNESCO’s staff, or to shut down the paper? It seems your work environment is getting more and more reminiscent of ‘Animal Farm.'”

UNESCO’s reaction to the cartoon is both ironic and disturbing, since UNESCO’s mandate includes protection of freedom of speech. Even worse, it is also hypocritical and inconsistent, considering all the times UNESCO, along with other UN agencies such as UN Human Rights Council, remained silent when presented with racist caricatures published in the state-controlled press of countries such as Jordan, Syria, Qatar and Oman – some depicting the UN itself as controlled by nefarious Jewish forces.

 

Or Avi-Guy

 

Tags:

RELATED ARTICLES


A scene from the unusually intense and extended battle that took place in Jenin on June 19, which left eight Israelis injured and seven Palestinians dead, six of them gunmen (Photo: Ayman Nobani/dpa/Alamy Live News)

Growing security challenges in the northern West Bank

Jun 27, 2023 | Update
Khamenei called for Iran to create 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power capacity - which would require at least 19 more plants the size of Iran's only current nuclear power plant, the Russian-built Bushehr plant (Image: Wikimedia Commons).

Iran’s ambiguous pronouncements on a possible new nuclear deal

Jun 16, 2023 | Update
Image: Shutterstock, Stuart Miles

A “Less for Less” Nuclear Deal with Iran?

Jun 9, 2023 | Update
Recent weeks have seen the rei-gnition of intense discussions regarding US efforts to negotiate a Saudi-Israel normalisation deal (Image: Shutterstock, lunopark)

Saudi-Israel deal progress?/ Israel and Erdogan’s Turkey

Jun 5, 2023 | Update
Palestinian demonstrators demand the resignation of PA President Mahmoud Abbas - the PA is increasingly viewed by many Palestinians as no longer representing their interests (Photo: Shutterstock, Anas-Mohammed)

Palestinian Authority in Crisis

May 25, 2023 | Update
Screenshot from a tiktok video showing Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets being launched at Israel from amidst civilians in a heavily populated area of Gaza

“Shield and Arrow”: Yet another Gaza conflict

May 12, 2023 | Update

SIGN UP FOR AIJAC EMAILS

RECENT POSTS

Israeli tanks in the Sinai Desert, 1973 (Image: Public domain)

From 1973 to Israel’s next war

Image001

The Last Word: Jeremy Jones – In Memoriam

Clinton appreciated Netanyahu’s political skills, but the two were divided over some key policy issues, leading to a tense relationship (Image: Shutterstock)

Essay: Bibi’s seven presidents

Destined to be an iconic landmark: The new National Library of Israel (Image: Herzog & De Meuron/ National Library of Israel/ Twitter)

Biblio File: Unique monument for the “People of the Book”

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Image: Shutterstock)

Deconstruction Zone: US outreach vs. Iranian aggression

Israeli tanks in the Sinai Desert, 1973 (Image: Public domain)

From 1973 to Israel’s next war

Image001

The Last Word: Jeremy Jones – In Memoriam

Clinton appreciated Netanyahu’s political skills, but the two were divided over some key policy issues, leading to a tense relationship (Image: Shutterstock)

Essay: Bibi’s seven presidents

Destined to be an iconic landmark: The new National Library of Israel (Image: Herzog & De Meuron/ National Library of Israel/ Twitter)

Biblio File: Unique monument for the “People of the Book”

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Image: Shutterstock)

Deconstruction Zone: US outreach vs. Iranian aggression

SORT BY TOPICS