Tuesday, September 22, 2009
I almost can't believe it: ADL: UNESCO Vote A Victory For International Understanding Through Culture And Education
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today welcomed the election of Bulgarian Ambassador Irina Bokova as Director-General of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Bokova defeated Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni by a vote of 31-27.
Hosni has a long record of stymieing cultural relations with Israel, promoting censorship in Egypt, and making harsh anti-Israel and anti-Jewish statements. The 193 member states of UNESCO are slated to vote to confirm the election on October 15...
...In the days leading up to the vote, ADL issued an open letter to UNESCO foreign ministers urging them to reject Hosni's candidacy. "As Egyptian Culture Minister for over two decades, Mr. Hosni has a long history of expressing hostility toward Israeli culture and opposing cultural exchanges with Israel," the letter said. "These views are emblematic of the rampant anti-Jewish sentiment that pervades Egypt's cultural elites and is a trend UNESCO is meant to counter, not to legitimate."
JPost report, here.
He blames the Jews for the debacle:
"Egypt's culture minister says a Western conspiracy "cooked up in New York" prevented him from becoming the next head of the U.N.'s agency for culture and education.
Farouk Hosny says "European countries and the world's Jews" wanted him to lose"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ivWBeREr1QQ2p0Q6QOrwehcu2K9AD9AT3SG00
Well, that one wasn't hard to predict...