Failed UNESCO Bidder Holds on to "US, Jewish Lobby" Theory

"The campaign against me in UNESCO was spearheaded in public by the United States, and several European states cooperated," Hosni (M) told the Friday edition of the state-run Al-Akbar.

The Egyptian candidate who lost a bid to head the UN culture and education body after a row over remarks last year that he was ready to burn Israeli books has once again blamed the United States and Jewish lobby for his defeat.

"The campaign against me in UNESCO was spearheaded in public by the United States, and several European states cooperated," Hosni told the Friday edition of the state-run Al-Akbar.

"There were those playing behind the scenes, and they were the Jewish organizations and lobby who lit a fire of lies against me," he added.

Irina Bokova, 57, defeated Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni Tuesday evening after a suspenseful and drawn-out race, sealing victory in the fifth round of balloting at the organisation's Paris headquarters.

The vote among UNESCO board members was 31 to 27.

The race was tight and closely watched, with a flurry of secretive diplomatic efforts between each round, allegations of fraud and an uproar over Hosni's candidacy.

Critics raised Egypt's contentious record of cultural censorship and accused him of being anti-Israel.

 

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