UNESCO

THE RECENT DECISION by the United Nations Economic, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to change the voting procedure on membership in order to enable Israel to be readmitted to the European regional group is both welcome and long overdue. The 1974 vote to exclude Israel from that group, and thereby from participation of any kind in UNESCO, was based on dishonest premises and represented nothing less than another attempt to delegitimize Israel by forces opposed to the very existence of the state. Their contention at the time that Israeli archeological excavations in East Jerusalem were being carried out without regard to the safety of Moslem holy sites was fraudulent. The argument made by one UNESCO delegate that Israel should not belong to any regional group because, "It is a state that came from nowhere and belongs nowhere," was in fact a far more honest statement of intent by those who sponsored the expulsion resolution.

It is unfortunate that it took the body of the UNESCO member states so long to come to their senses. But it was rewarding and encouraging to see intellectuals throughout the world, and especially those in France and the United States, protest and condemn the original decision. The efforts of many in the Harvard community, most notably Kenneth J. Arrow, University Professor, were consistent and noteworthy; and they should derive a strong sense of satisfaction from the righting of the wrong committed in 1974.