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DE RUEHFR #0226/01 0551654
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FM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS FR
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INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM

UNCLAS UNESCO PARIS FR 000226 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNESCO IS
SUBJECT:  FIRST MEETING WITH NEW ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO UNESCO 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Covering a wide range of subjects, Israel's new 
ambassador to UNESCO and the OECD, Nimrod BARKAN, said that his main 
goal at UNESCO is to integrate Israel into the organization by 
sharing its technical expertise, and keep it from being seen as a 
one issue country in connection with Holocaust remembrance.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Israel's newly appointed ambassador to UNESCO and to the 
OECD, Nimrod BARKAN, met with Ambassador Killion on Tuesday, 23 
February, to discuss a wide variety of issues in advance of the 
Executive Board session to be held in early April.  Israeli 
delegation staffer, Michal Pelosof and US Mission staffer, David 
Ostroff also attended the meeting. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Barkan began by going over his notes from his first 
meeting with Director-General Bokova, who he said was too focused on 
Holocaust-related issues.  Barkan said that one of his main goals at 
UNESCO will be to shift Israel's image from that of champion of 
Holocaust remembrance events to a more "normal" member state which 
participates in UNESCO programs by supplying technical expertise. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) At the same time, Barkan understands that the political 
realities at UNESCO will mirror what is going on in other 
international organizations, and that certain member states will 
continue to use UNESCO as a platform for anti-Israeli actions as 
long as possible.  He seemed resigned to this fact, but hopes that 
by integrating Israel into UNESCO's staff of experts in the areas of 
education and science, there may be a long-term change of 
perceptions by both the UNESCO Secretariat and Member States. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Barkan said that in his meeting with Bokova, when the 
issues of Mughrabi Gate and the other recurrent problems that 
concern Israel, Palestine and Jordan came up, she seemed to be a bit 
blank on the subject.  Barkan insisted to us that there is "no new 
news" on Mughrabi Gate, with the Jordanians refusing all dialogue, 
and that Jerusalem understands that it is a "heavy duty" political 
issue that must be handled carefully.  Barkan raised his concerns 
about having an experienced "facilitator" to assist in any 
negotiations during the upcoming Executive Board.  Philippe 
Kridelka, according to Barkan, had contacted Anthony Krause, the 
former Matsuura cabinet executive officer, who had assisted in the 
negotiations in Seville during the World Heritage Committee meeting 
in 2009.  Krause told Kridelka that he would not be able to come - a 
surprising response to a direct call from the D-G's Chief of Staff. 
(Note:  Previously, in addition to Louise Rasmussen, who is now in 
Ramallah, Mounir Bouchenaki, and the former Canadian Ambassador to 
UNESCO, Gilbert Lauren had previously assisted with the 
negotiations, along with former Deputy Director-General Barbosa and 
former U.S. Ambassador Louise Oliver.  End note.)  Ambassador 
Killion told Barkan that he had heard that Japanese Ambassador to 
UNESCO, Tadamichi Yamamoto, was potentially ready to assist, if 
needed. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about today's news reports regarding 
Israel's decision to add the Cave of the Patriarchs, also known as 
Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to a list of Israeli national heritage 
sites, as well as Rachel's Tomb, a shrine just inside Bethlehem. 
Both sites are claimed by Palestine as part of their territory. 
Barkan said that it is a domestic issue that doesn't concern UNESCO. 
 It is highly probable that this issue will be raised in some form 
before the Executive Board despite Israel's response that it is not 
a UNESCO concern. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Barkan told Killion that he is working with the Foreign 
Ministry to finalize plans to fund a P-4 position in UNESCO's 
education sector to cover Holocaust Remembrance education.  Israel, 
not wanting to fill the job with a Jewish Israeli, has identified a 
young French citizen who is not Jewish, who has been working with 
the Shoah Foundation in Paris, and who would be interested in 
filling the slot which would be covered by a three-year contract. 
The education sector has been unable to properly take care of the 
Holocaust education subject due to a lack of personnel as well as a 
lack of funding. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Barkan also expressed concern about future funding of the 
annual Holocaust Remembrance ceremony, which he would like to see 
funded through UNESCO's regular budget to a greater degree, though 
he doubts that UNESCO will be forthcoming.  With a person in place 
to concentrate on the subject, Barkan hopes that the problems in 
financing the program will be less onerous.  We also raised the need 
to push other member states to donate more extra budgetary funds to 
the Holocaust remembrance project, as only six have given money to 
the account, despite it being passed unanimously during the 34th 
General Conference. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Regarding Barkan's desire to promote Israeli technical 
assistance at UNESCO, he said that he is proposing an exhibit next 
September in Fontenoy, highlighting Israeli development  projects 
around the world, concentrating of the fight against 
desertification, techniques of farming with low water use, as well 
 
as teacher training programs in Africa.  Barkan also spoke of trying 
to get an Israeli into the education sector to work on ICT capacity 
building and teacher training.  There are currently three Israelis 
employed in the Secretariat.  He added, however, that he doubts 
Bokova will lift a finger to bring more Israelis into the 
Secretariat at this time, despite some highly qualified individuals 
having applied for open jobs. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Barkan mentioned that Israel hosts an annual conference 
for women leaders.  Given UNESCO's interest in promoting greater 
empowerment for women, Barkan has invited Bokova to attend the 2011 
conference.  Ambassador Killion suggested that the Israelis also 
invite Ambassador Melanne Verveer, which Barkan enthusiastically 
agreed with.  Barkan said that getting Bokova to Israel on something 
other than a Holocaust-related event would be a major plus.  He 
called it a "cop-out" for Bokova to accept only Holocaust-related 
issues in connection with Israel, and again stressed his desire to 
bring Israel into UNESCO as a more "normal" player with other things 
to offer the organization.  He also mentioned that a recent poll 
showed that 42 percent of Europeans believe that the Israelis 
continue to use the Holocaust for political purposes. 
 
¶11. (SBU) In a quick mention of preparations for the Executive 
Board, Barkan said that the Egyptian chair of the NGO 
(Non-Governmental Organizations) Committee had proposed that Member 
States nominate experts to discuss the theme Egypt had selected for 
the meeting on "Violence in Nowadays Society Among Youth and Against 
Women".  Barkan said that he was trying to get Israel to convince an 
Arab woman who is active in Israel regarding violence against women 
to participate, but wasn't sure if she would agree, nor if the 
Egyptians would select who Member States proposed to speak. 
 
12: (SBU) Barkan also mentioned a disturbing report from Barcelona 
that the UNESCO Club of Catalonia is organizing a "Bertrand Russell 
Tribunal" to try Israel in a mock-trial on war crimes.  According to 
Barkan's sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, an invitation was 
sent by the club to UNESCO's Ramallah office to attend. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Finally, Barkan asked if we had been contacted by the 
Simon Wiesenthal Center about complaints regarding the construction 
of their new museum on land that contains an Arab cemetery.  Ostroff 
mentioned that Mr. Shimon Samuels, head of the Wiesenthal Center in 
Paris had asked if we had heard of it, which we hadn't at that time. 
 Barkan made it clear that despite an Israeli Supreme Court decision 
giving the Center a green light to build, he feels strongly that any 
action to do so would be foolish. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Comment:  Barkan will be dividing his time between UNESCO 
and OECD, and will undoubtedly get more staff to beef up his 
one-person team in Paris.  He seemed a bit unsure of Bokova's 
position in regards to Israel, worried that she may be obliged to 
count votes in connection with future decisions and looking down the 
road to her possible re-election.  End comment. KILLION