US says it’s leaving UN cultural agency UNESCO again, only 2 years after rejoining
July 22, 2025 (AP) – The United States announced Tuesday it will again pull out of the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency because it believes that its involvement is not in the country’s national interest, and that the agency promotes anti-Israel speech. This decision comes only two years after the United States rejoined UNESCO after leaving in 2018, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first administration. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the withdrawal was linked to UNESCO’s perceived agenda to “advance divisive social and cultural causes.” She added in a statement that UNESCO’s decision “to admit the ‘State of