JERUSALEM: Israel has announced it is leaving UNESCO citing the cultural agency's "systematic attacks" on the Jewish state.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said Friday that the decision was based on the organization's "attempts to disconnect Jewish history from the land of Israel." He said the official letter of departure will be submitted before the year's end and that Israel will leave the organization by the end of 2018.
Earlier this year the U.S said it will withdraw from UNESCO, also at that time, citing similar reasons.
Israel has long complained of perceived anti-Israel bias within the UN, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters.
Recent resolutions by the organization outraged many Israelis who viewed them as diminishing the deep Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the biblical city of Hebron.