Israel Cuts Ties With Additional UN Agencies, Citing Anti-Israel Bias and Bureaucratic Failures

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel will immediately sever all contact with three additional United Nations agencies and international bodies, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Tuesday, expanding a sweeping reassessment of Israel’s engagement with UN institutions.

The newly cut organizations are the UN Alliance of Civilizations, UN Energy, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, which claims to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue, has excluded Israel while serving “for years as a platform for attacks against Israel.” UN Energy was dismissed as a “wasteful organization” emblematic of what Jerusalem described as the UN’s excessive and inefficient bureaucracy. The Global Forum on Migration and Development was accused of undermining the ability of sovereign nations to enforce their own immigration laws.

The move follows Israel’s earlier withdrawal from four other UN bodies: the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, UN Women, UN Conference on Trade and Development, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

Israel severed ties with the children and armed conflict office in June 2024 after it placed the Israel Defense Forces on a blacklist alongside Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Foreign Ministry said Israel was the only democratic state included alongside globally recognized terror organizations.

Cooperation with UN Women was halted in July 2024 after the agency was accused of deliberately ignoring documented cases of sexual violence committed against Israeli women during the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. Israel has also long disengaged from UNCTAD and ESCWA, accusing both bodies of producing what it called “virulent anti-Israel reports” that later serve as the basis for hostile UN resolutions.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the decision is part of a broader review of Israel’s relationship with international organizations, following the United States’ withdrawal from dozens of such bodies.

Sa’ar instructed the Foreign Ministry to immediately examine, in coordination with relevant government agencies, whether continued cooperation with other international organizations remains in Israel’s national interest. Officials said further decisions are expected.

The announcement comes amid renewed confrontation between Israel and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Earlier this month, Israel passed legislation cutting electricity, water, and communications to UNRWA facilities, prompting sharp condemnation from the agency.

Bill 6786-2025 passed its final reading in the Knesset with 59 votes in favor and seven against. The law amends existing legislation aimed at ending UNRWA activity in Israel. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth described UNRWA as a “partner in terrorism,” accusing the agency of involvement in the October 7 attacks and of operating as “an arm of Hamas under UN cover.”

Israel has already banned UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory and sharply restricted its activities in Gaza and the West Bank, citing what it says are entrenched ties between agency staff and terrorist organizations. Israel has also released evidence alleging that UNRWA-run schools promote hatred of Israel and glorify attacks against Israelis—claims the agency denies.

Israeli officials argue the latest withdrawals reflect long-standing concerns over systemic bias within the United Nations, noting that Israel faces more UN resolutions annually than any other country.

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