UNESCO is the first U.N. agency the Palestinians have joined as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on September 23.
The United States, Canada, Germany and Holland voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favor. Britain and Italy abstained.
Washington is likely to cut funding to UNESCO over the vote.
“The action today will complicate our ability to support UNESCO,” David T. Killion, U.S. ambassador to UNESCO, told journalists after the vote.
“The U.S. has been clear for the need of a two-state resolution, but the only path is through direct negotiations and there are no shortcuts, and initiatives like today are counterproductive.”
. . .
Israel called the vote a “tragedy.”
“This resolution is a tragedy for UNESCO…UNESCO deals in science and not science fiction and nevertheless (UNESCO) adopted the science fiction reality,” said Nimrod Barkan, Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO.
CNN:
Earlier, as the vote was under way, applause broke out after some countries voted in favor of the bid.
There was laughter in the room after Israel voted no.
Sean Lee has the full vote tally on his blog The Human Province:
There were 14 “no” votes, 52 abstentions and 107 “yes” votes (there were also 20 Member States absent):
No: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sweden, United States of America, Vanuatu.
Abstentions: Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Zambia.
Yes: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sant Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Absent: Antigua and Barbuda, Central African Republic, Comoros, Dominica, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Madagascar, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Confederated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Niue, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan.
Lee adds:
Most of these are no surprise, although it is worth noting the division in Europe, with Spain, France, Ireland, Austria, Finland and Greece voting “yes,” Germany, Czech Republic and Sweden voting “no,” and the UK, Italy and Denmark abstaining. It’s also probably worth noting that the US didn’t manage to get a “no” vote from such solid supporters as countries like Latvia (which voted “no” to bringing the motion to the General Assembly earlier this month but abstained today) and Tuvalu, Nauru and other island states that almost always support the US in international forums. Another formerly stalwart US supporter who voted for Palestine is Iceland. I remember chatting with an Icelandic diplomat during the Bush administration who had told me that after one particularly egregious instance of Washington dictating terms on what should have been a bilateral decision between Reykjavik and DC meant that the US could no longer count on their automatic support in international forums.
Bravo UNESCO.
Superb news.
Meanwhile back on the psychiatric ward some news from the patient spokesperson
http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article-print-page/fm-lieberman-israel-must-weigh-cutting-ties-with-palestinian-authority-1.392972?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.216%2C2.217%2C
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday that Israel must consider cutting ties with the Palestinian Authority. “We need to collect a price for the diatribes, campaigns and boycotts,” Lieberman said at a Yisrael Beiteinu party meeting at the Knesset. “We cannot leave it without a clear response and without collecting a price.” Lieberman also said that Israel “needs to topple the Hamas regime as possible.” He presented the coalition agreement in which the government committed to removing the Hamas regime that controls the Gaza Strip.
Nimrod Barkan…..NIMROD
that pretty much says it all……
And we’re still laughing……
An important milestone with far reaching implications. The first of many. Let’s see if the congress follows through with defunding threat.
I have to say I am disgusted by Germany on this. WTF is Germany doing telling the Palestinians they can’t have a state? Who started the whole bordel de merde in the first place? Why didn’t Germany offer the Jews part of its land for a state ?
BTW there is 20,000 sq km of mostly sparsely populated land in the former East Germany available if the Zionists could be nudged into a swap. I’m sure the Palestinians would give them the stones from the Kotel if required.