TelegramC O N F I D E N T I A L   UNESCOPARI   12152268 
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DE RUEHFR #2268/01 3501501
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O 151501Z DEC 08
FM UNESCO PARIS FR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS FR 002268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2018 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO IS
SUBJECT:  HFAC STAFFER MEETS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO UNESCO 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR LOUISE OLIVER FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Israeli Ambassador Kornbluth said that he would 
maintain a low-profile stance regarding Egypt's DG candidate Farouk 
Hosni, but provided new quotes to bolster the case against the 
Egyptian.  On Mughrabi gate, Kornbluth said that no matter how far 
they bend in trying to find a conciliatory solution, the Jordanians 
and other Arabs will never be satisfied, making it ultimately a "no 
win" situation.  Kornbluth expressed thanks to the U.S. since its 
return to UNESCO for helping Israel take steps towards normalizing 
its relationships with other Member States at the organization.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Senior House Affairs Committee (HFAC) staff member, David 
Killion met with Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO, David Kornbluth on 10 
December at the Israeli Embassy in Paris.  He was accompanied by 
Ambassador Oliver and Mission political specialist, David Ostroff. 
 
¶3.  (C) Ambassador Kornbluth began the meeting by saying that 
Israel's huge improvement in its relations with UNESCO is due 
directly to the U.S. presence and involvement, led by Ambassador 
Oliver.  He described Israel's chairmanship of the Electoral Group I 
as a breakthrough, given the fact that it is the first time that 
Israel has taken such a role within the United Nations.  He also 
thanked the U.S. for its help and support over the year in managing 
the responsibilities linked with the job. 
 
¶4.  (C) Mr. Killion then explained the purpose of his trip to Paris, 
which was to express the serious concern of the HFAC regarding the 
candidature of Egypt's Farouk Hosni for the position of 
Director-General of UNESCO.  Mr. Killion said that the HFAC was 
advising President-elect Obama's transition team on UNESCO matters, 
and wanted to communicate to both Member State representatives and 
key Secretariat managers that the incoming Democrats share the Bush 
administration's belief that Hosni's candidature, as an individual, 
was unacceptable. 
 
¶5.  (C) Kornbluth said that Hosni has been working actively against 
cultural normalization between Israel and Egypt for years, and that 
on the cultural front, the peace treaty between the two countries has 
been a failure due to Hosni's hard-line stance.  Kornbluth said that 
it would be a mistake to build our opposition to Hosni based on a 
single quote on burning books, when there are literally dozens of 
equally hostile comments made publicly and which appeared in the 
press over the years.  Kornbluth promised that the quotes would be 
released by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem to us soon.  (Note:  We 
have now received them from Washington.  End note.) 
 
¶6.  (C) The Israeli Ambassador reiterated his position, based on 
clear instructions from Jerusalem, that he maintain a low profile 
regarding attacks on Hosni, adding that if it is perceived by others 
to be a Arab-Israeli fight, it will hurt our shared goal of stopping 
his candidacy.  Ambassador Oliver agreed, and said that it is clear 
that other Arab candidates cannot come forward until Hosni is out. 
She added that the more information we can get on Hosni, the easier 
it will be to strengthen our arguments against him. 
 
¶7.  (C) On another issue, Mr. Killion mentioned that the Israelis 
should tone down their talk of a possible boycott regarding Durban 2. 
 He added that it was unhelpful for the Israelis to have taken a 
public position without talking with us first. 
 
¶8.  (C) In response to Ambassador Kornbluth's question on the state 
of play of different countries regarding Hosni, Ambassador Oliver 
said that based on her talks with various ambassadors, no one had 
taken formal positions yet, and that several countries which had been 
publicly cited by Egypt as supportive of Hosni's candidature had told 
her this wasn't true.  Ambassador Oliver told Kornbluth that she is 
confident that as soon as other viable candidates come forward, 
Hosni's alleged support will fade away, including for the French. 
 
¶9. (C) Mr. Killion said that in his talks with the French, he sensed 
that they were nervous about creating a problem for the incoming 
Obama administration, something he had never seen before.  Killion 
went on to say that the Obama administration doesn't have the luxury 
of not having the United Nations work properly, as it creates huge 
political vulnerabilities every time there is a failure at the UN. 
 
¶10. (C) Ambassador Kornbluth said that he felt the anti-UN "strain" 
has weakened in Israel, thanks in great part to DG Matsuura and DDG 
Barbosa's work.  Kornbluth added that unfortunately, nobody knows 
about our successes with issues like the Mughrabi gate, because we've 
been able to reach consensus.  It's only when it blows up that the 
press jumps on the subject.  Kornbluth continued by saying that his 
main concern is keeping Mughrabi out of the newspapers so that 
Israeli ministers would be blamed for "giving in" to Jordan. 
 
¶11. (C) Ambassador Oliver then asked about the current state of play, 
saying that she had heard that Jordan had equipment on site that the 
Israelis refused to let in, as well as that there were rumors 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2018 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO IS
SUBJECT:  HFAC STAFFER MEETS ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO UNESCO 
 
circulating that construction could begin sooner rather than later 
regarding the Mughrabi issue.  She added that she had also heard that 
Israel had received a letter from the World Heritage Center saying 
that elements of the Israeli design for the ramp were unacceptable. 
 
OLIVER