Israel has withdrawn its opposition to Egypt's candidate to head the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor confirmed Tuesday. The commitment not to oppose Egypt's Cultural Minister Farouk Hosni as UNESCO director-general came in a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on May 11.
Hosni's proposed appointment to the post had caused a stir in Israel, as a result of his reported anti-Israel sentiments, which include banning Israeli films from international film festivals in Cairo and declaring that he "would burn Israeli books in Egyptian libraries" if he could.
Israeli media reported Tuesday that Netanyahu's promise to Mubarak is opposed by the Foreign Ministry, and opposition legislator Yohanan Plesner has demanded that parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee convene to discuss the issue. Hosni is the main contender to succeed Japan's Koichiro Matsuura, who bows out as head of the UNESCO later this year. The deadline for nominating candidates to succeed him expires at the end of May.
Olaf Zimmermann, chief executive of the German Council of Culture, said Monday that the appointment of Hosni would be "a grave mistake." "A person who is under the justified suspicion on failing to respect the diversity of the world's cultures cannot be allowed to take up the most important office in global cultural and education policy," Zimmermann said in a statement.
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