Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari, Qatar's candidate for the election of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization new leader, smiles at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, Wednesday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 PARIS (AP) — The United States is pulling out of UNESCO because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias and a need for "fundamental reform" of the U.N. cultural agency. 
 
 While the Trump administration had been preparing for a likely withdrawal for months, the announcement by the State Department on Thursday rocked UNESCO's Paris headquarters, where a heated election to choose a new director is under way. 
 
 The outgoing UNESCO chief expressed her "profound regret" at the decision and tried to defend the reputation of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions. 
 
 The U.S. stopped funding UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member in 2011, but the State Department has maintained a UNESCO office and sought to weigh on policy behind the scenes. The U.S. now owes about $550 million in back payments. 
 
 In a statement, the State Department said the decision will take effect Dec. 31, 2018, and that the U.S. will seek a "permanent observer" status instead. It cited U.S. belief in "the need for fundamental reform in the organization." 
 
 Several diplomats who were to have been posted to the mission this summer were told that their positions were on hold and advised to seek other jobs. In addition, the Trump administration's proposed budget for the next fiscal year contains no provision for the possibility that UNESCO funding restrictions might be lifted. 
 
 The lack of staffing and funding plans for UNESCO by the U.S. have been accompanied by repeated denunciations of UNESCO by senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. 
 
 U.S. officials said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision and that it was not discussed with other countries but was the result of an internal U.S. government deliberation. 
 
 The officials, who were not authorized to be publicly named discussing the issue, said the U.S. is notably angry over UNESCO resolutions denying Jewish connections to holy sites and references to Israel as an occupying power. 
 
 Many saw the 2011 UNESCO vote to include Palestine as evidence of long-running, ingrained anti-Israel bias within the United Nations, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters. 
 
 UNESCO's outgoing director-general, Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, called the U.S. departure a loss for "the United Nations family" and for multilateralism. She said the U.S. and UNESCO matter to each other more than ever now to better fight "the rise of violent extremism and terrorism." 
 
 She defended UNESCO's reputation, noting its efforts to support Holocaust education and train teachers to fight anti-Semitism — and that that the Statue of Liberty is among the many World Heritage sites protected by the U.N. agency. UNESCO also works to improve education for girls in poor countries and in scientific fields and to defend media freedom, among other activities. 
 
 Other UNESCO members did not immediately comment on the U.S. departure. 
 
 It's not the first time the U.S. pulled out of UNESCO: Washington did the same thing in the 1980s because it viewed the agency as mismanaged, corrupt and used to advance Soviet interests. The U.S. rejoined in 2003. 
 
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 Lee reported from Washington. ||||| U.S. to Pull Out of UNESCO, Again 
 
 The United States plans to formally withdraw from UNESCO, the United Nations’ Paris-based cultural, scientific, and educational organization, to save money and protest what it views as the organization’s anti-Israel bias. 
 
 The move, which could be announced as early as next week, marks America’s further estrangement from an organization that it helped establish after World War II to widen access to education and ensure the free flow of ideas. The United States will maintain its presence at UNESCO as an observer state. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the decision several weeks ago and told French President Emmanuel Macron that Washington was considering leaving during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in late September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Macron was seeking Trump’s support for a French candidate seeking the top job at UNESCO. 
 
 The State Department wanted to delay its departure until after UNESCO selects a new director-general this week. The two front-runners are a former French culture minister, Audrey Azoulay, and a Qatari diplomat, Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari. China’s nominee and early frontrunner, Qian Tang, has seen his candidacy crater. 
 
 France is looking for more than just U.S. support for Azoulay: It also wants continued global engagement from an administration that has been reluctant to do so. 
 
 “We hope the U.S. will take the decision to stay within UNESCO,” France’s U.N. ambassador, François Delattre, said in an interview Wednesday. 
 
 “For us, it is important to have the United States on board, including at UNESCO at this critical juncture,” he added. “We consider the U.S. must stay committed to world affairs.” 
 
 The Ronald Reagan administration decided to withdraw from the organization in 1984, at the height of the Cold War, citing corruption and what it considered an ideological tilt toward the Soviet Union against the West. President George W. Bush rejoined the organization in 2002, claiming it had gotten its books an order and expunged some of its most virulent anti-Western and anti-Israel biases. 
 
 “America will participate fully in its mission to advance human rights, tolerance, and learning,” he said at the time. 
 
 But six years ago, the United States cut off more than $80 million a year, about 22 percent of its entire budget for UNESCO, in reprisal for the organization’s acceptance of Palestine as a member. The Obama administration said it had to cut funds because a 1990s-era law prohibits U.S. funding for any U.N. agencies recognizing Palestine as a state. 
 
 Despite the funding cut, the United States remains a member of UNESCO and even has a vote on the executive board, which selects the new director-general. But the United States has and it continues to be charged tens of millions in dues each year, and it has lost its voting rights in UNESCO’s principal decision-making body, which is known as the General Conference. That body approves UNESCO’s budget and establishes a range of programs dealing with education, science, and culture around the globe. 
 
 As a result of U.S. funding cuts, U.S. arrears have been swelling each year, surpassing $500 million that’s owed to UNESCO. Tillerson wants to stop the bleeding. 
 
 But the fundamental strain is over UNESCO’s approach to Israel. Last year, Israel recalled its ambassador to UNESCO in protest after Arab governments in the organization secured support for a resolution denouncing Israel’s policies regarding religious sites in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 
 
 And in July, UNESCO declared the old city in Hebron, a West Bank town that includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a Palestinian World Heritage Site, a move Israel claims negates Judaism’s links to the biblical town. 
 
 Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images ||||| PARIS (Reuters) - The United States and Israel announced on Thursday they were quitting the U.N.’s cultural agency UNESCO, after Washington accused it of anti-Israeli bias. 
 
 The withdrawal of the United States, which is meant to provide a fifth of UNESCO’s funding, is a major blow for the Paris-based organization, founded after World War Two to help protect cultural and natural heritage around the world. 
 
 UNESCO is best known for designating World Heritage Sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria and the Grand Canyon National Park. 
 
 “This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. 
 
 Hours later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would quit too, calling the U.S. decision “brave and moral”. 
 
 UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expressed her disappointment: “At the time when conflicts continue to tear apart societies across the world, it is deeply regrettable for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations agency promoting education for peace and protecting culture under attack,” she said. 
 
 “This is a loss to the United Nations family. This is a loss for multilateralism.” 
 
 Washington has already withheld its funding for UNESCO since 2011, when the body admitted Palestine as a full member. The United States and Israel were among just 14 of 194 members that voted against admitting the Palestinians. Washington’s arrears on its $80 million annual dues since then are now over $500 million. 
 
 Although Washington supports a future independent Palestinian state, it says this should emerge out of peace talks and it considers it unhelpful for international organizations to admit Palestine until negotiations are complete. 
 
 In recent years, Israel has repeatedly complained about what it says is the body taking sides in disputes over cultural heritage sites in Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories. 
 
 “Today is a new day at the U.N., where there is price to pay for discrimination against Israel,” Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said. 
 
 Netanyahu told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly last month that UNESCO was promoting “fake history” after it designated Hebron and the two adjoined shrines at its heart - the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque - as a “Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger.” 
 
 An Arab-backed UNESCO resolution last year condemned Israeli’s policies at religious sites in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 
 
 An American flag flies outside the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France, October 12, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer 
 
 Under UNESCO rules, the U.S. withdrawal will become effective as of the end of December 2018. Three diplomats had told Reuters earlier on Thursday of the impending decision. 
 
 TRUMP EFFECT 
 
 The organization, which employs around 2,000 people worldwide, most of them based in Paris, has struggled for relevance as it becomes increasingly hobbled by regional rivalries and a lack of money. 
 
 UNESCO, whose full name is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is in the process of selecting a new chief, whose priority will be to revive its fortunes. 
 
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 The U.S. move underscores the scepticism expressed by President Donald Trump about the need for the U.S. to remain engaged in multi-lateral bodies. The president has touted an “America First” policy, which puts U.S. economic and national interests ahead of international commitments. 
 
 Since Trump took office, the United States has abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks and withdrawn from the Paris climate deal. Washington is also reviewing its membership of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, which it also accuses of being anti-Israel. 
 
 “The absence of the United States or any large country with a lot of power is a loss. It’s not just about money, it’s promoting ideals that are vital to countries like the United States, such as education and culture,” a UNESCO-based diplomat said, warning that others could follow. 
 
 For differing reasons, Britain, Japan and Brazil are among states that have yet to pay their dues for 2017. 
 
 Russia’s former envoy to UNESCO told RIA news agency the agency was better off without the Americans. 
 
 “In recent years, they’ve been of no use for this organization,” Eleanora Mitrofanova said. “Since 2011 they have practically not been paying to the budget of this organization... They decided to exit - this is absolutely in line with Trump’s general logic today.” 
 
 After four days of secret balloting to pick a new UNESCO chief, Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari qualified for the Friday runoff. 
 
 France’s Audrey Azoulay and Egypt’s Moushira Khattab were tied in second. One will be eliminated after another vote by 58-member Executive Council on Friday. If the two finalists end level, they draw lots. 
 
 The election has exposed deep rivalries between Qatar and Egypt that has its roots in the crisis engulfing Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors which have severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Doha after accusing it of sponsoring hardline Islamist groups, a charge Qatar denies. ||||| After receiving official notification by the United States Secretary of State, Mr Rex Tillerson, as UNESCO Director-General, I wish to express profound regret at the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from UNESCO. 
 
 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. 
 
 In 2011, when payment of membership contributions was suspended at the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference, I said I was convinced UNESCO had never mattered as much for the United States, or the United States for UNESCO. 
 
 This is all the more true today, when the rise of violent extremism and terrorism calls for new long-term responses for peace and security, to counter racism and antisemitism, to fight ignorance and discrimination. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s work to advance literacy and quality education is shared by the American people. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s action to harness new technologies to enhance learning is shared by the American people. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s action to enhance scientific cooperation, for ocean sustainability, is shared by the American people. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s action to promote freedom of expression, to defend the safety of journalists, is shared by the American people. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s action to empower girls and women as change-makers, as peacebuilders, is shared by the American people. 
 
 I believe UNESCO’s action to bolster societies facing emergencies, disasters and conflicts is shared by the American people. 
 
 Despite the withholding of funding, since 2011, we have deepened the partnership between the United States and UNESCO, which has never been so meaningful. 
 
 Together, we have worked to protect humanity’s shared cultural heritage in the face of terrorist attacks and to prevent violent extremism through education and media literacy. 
 
 Together, we worked with the late Samuel Pisar, Honorary Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Education, to promote education for remembrance of the Holocaust across the world as the means to fight antisemitism and genocide today, including with, amongst others, the UNESCO Chair for Genocide Education at the University of Southern California and the UNESCO Chair on Literacy and Learning at the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Together, we work with the OSCE to produce new tools for educators against all forms of antisemitism, as we have done to fight anti-Muslim racism in schools. 
 
 Together, we launched the Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education in 2011. 
 
 Together, with the American academic community, including 17 UNESCO University Chairs, we have worked to advance literacy, to promote sciences for sustainability, to teach respect for all in schools. 
 
 This partnership has been embodied in our interaction with the United States Geological Survey, with the US Army Corps of Engineers, with United States professional societies, to advance research for the sustainable management of water resources, agriculture. 
 
 It has been embodied in the celebration of World Press Freedom Day in Washington D.C in 2011, with the National Endowment for Democracy. 
 
 It has been embodied in our cooperation with major private sector companies, with Microsoft, Cisco, Procter & Gamble, Intel, to retain girls in school, to nurture technologies for quality learning. 
 
 It has been embodied in the promotion of International Jazz Day, including at the White House in 2016, to celebrate human rights and cultural diversity on the basis of tolerance and respect. 
 
 It has been embodied in 23 World Heritage sites, reflecting the universal value of the cultural heritage of the United States, in 30 Biosphere Reserves, embodying the country’s vast and rich biodiversity, in 6 Creative Cities, as a source of innovation and job creation. 
 
 The partnership between UNESCO and the United States has been deep, because it has drawn on shared values. 
 
 The American poet, diplomat and Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish penned the lines that open UNESCO’s 1945 Constitution: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” This vision has never been more relevant. 
 
 The United States helped inspire the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention. 
 
 In 2002, one year after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the late Russell Train, former Head of the US Environmental Protection Agency and founder of the World Wildlife Fund, who did so much to launch the World Heritage Convention, said: “At this time in history, as the fabric of human society seems increasingly under attack by forces that deny the very existence of a shared heritage, forces that strike at the very heart of our sense of community, I am convinced that World Heritage holds out a contrary and positive vision of human society and our human future.” 
 
 UNESCO’s work is key to strengthen the bonds of humanity’s common heritage in the face of forces of hatred and division. 
 
 The Statue of Liberty is a World Heritage site because it is a defining symbol of the United States of America, and also because of what it says for people across the world. 
 
 Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed, is a World Heritage site, because its message speaks to policy-makers and activists across the globe. 
 
 Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon are World Heritage sites, because they are marvels for everyone, in all countries. 
 
 This is not just about World Heritage. 
 
 UNESCO in itself holds out this “positive vision of human society.” 
 
 At the time when the fight against violent extremism calls for renewed investment in education, in dialogue among cultures to prevent hatred, it is deeply regrettable that the United States should withdraw from the United Nations agency leading these issues. 
 
 At the time when conflicts continue to tear apart societies across the world, it is deeply regrettable for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations agency promoting education for peace and protecting culture under attack. 
 
 This is why I regret the withdrawal of the United States. 
 
 This is a loss to UNESCO. 
 
 This is a loss to the United Nations family. 
 
 This is a loss for multilateralism. 
 
 UNESCO’s task is not over, and we will continue taking it forward, to build a 21st century that is more just, peaceful, equitable, and, for this, UNESCO needs the leadership of all States. 
 
 UNESCO will continue to work for the universality of this Organization, for the values we share, for the objectives we hold in common, to strengthen a more effective multilateral order and a more peaceful, more just world.
– The US has long had dicey relations with the UN cultural organization UNESCO, and those relations have just taken another sour turn. The State Department announced Thursday that the US is pulling out of the organization at the end of next year, citing what it sees as an anti-Israel bias, concern over America's mounting back dues, and the "need for fundamental reform," reports the Hill. Though it won't be a full member, the US will maintain a lesser role with "observer" status. Details: Not the first time: Ronald Reagan severed ties with UNESCO in 1984, accusing the group of having a pro-Soviet bias and of being plagued with corruption, notes Foreign Policy. George W. Bush reinstated ties in 2002, saying the organization had made the necessary reforms and corrected an anti-Israel bias. About Israel: The US stopped paying $80 million in annual dues in 2011 after UNESCO accepted Palestine as a member. And this summer, UNESCO recognized the old city of Hebron in the West Bank as a Palestinian World Heritage Site over the objections of the US and Israel. Those unpaid dues, meanwhile, now add up to about $550 million in back payments, reports the AP, and the US wants to stop the amount from growing. UNESCO mission: The organization, formed after WWII and based in Paris, is perhaps best known for the aforementioned World Heritage operation, which designates cultural sites worthy of preservation. (The Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon are among them.) Beyond that, the broad mission is in the name: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. One example is improving girls' access to education. The group has 195 member nations and is currently in the process of picking a new leader, per the Washington Post. Trump pattern? Reuters sees the move as in line with the Trump administration's embrace of "America First" and its corresponding disdain of engaging with international bodies. It cites the disavowal of the TPP trade deal and the Paris climate accord, as well as the potential ditching of NAFTA. 'Profound regret': UNESCO chief Irina Bokova voiced "profound regret" at the decision in a statement. "At the time when the fight against violent extremism calls for renewed investment in education, in dialogue among cultures to prevent hatred, it is deeply regrettable that the United States should withdraw from the United Nations agency leading these issues."