UN

Unesco considers candidate accused of anti-Semitism

Article published on the 2009-09-17 Latest update 2009-09-17 10:59 TU

Candidates for Unesco Director-General. Farouk Hosny is second from the left.
(Photo: Unesco/Michel Ravassard)

Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny is the favoured candidate to lead the United Nation’s cultural body, Unesco, as it begins voting Thursday. Supported by France, the US and the Arab League, Hosny, who once said he’d burn any Hebrew book he found in an Egyptian library, is controversial.

Unesco's 58 voting countries will begin casting their votes for the new Director-General on Thursday, in an appointment process that could take several days.

Hosny first drew international attention when he said that “Israeli culture is an inhumane culture. It’s an aggressive culture, racist, pretentious, based on one simple principle: stealing something that doesn’t belong to them.”

He later withdrew his comment and apologised in an article published in the French daily, Le Monde, but it has not stopped the flow of criticism.

French thinker Bernard-Henri Lévy criticised Hosny for being an intolerant candidate for the head of a body that exists to encourage tolerance.

“This logic seems to me incompatible with the spirit of prudence and wisdom required of a man aspiring to the helm of a body that, even if it hasn't always been a shining example of its core ideals, remains dedicated to the diversity of cultures, to their dialogue, to the development of a spirit of tolerance and peace,” Lévy wrote in The Huffington Post.

Some, however, have forgiven Hosny, including French Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld, who said that he is a good candidate because he doesn’t deny the Nazi holocaust of European Jews.

Hosny’s candidature dates back several years. He was first supported by former French President Jacques Chirac, who was especially close with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Following his election in 2007, Chirac's successor, Nicolas Sarkozy was not enthousiastic about the idea of Hosny at the head of Unesco, and reportedly tried to dissuade Cairo from supporting him.

However, this position changed after the Israeli invasion of Gaza in December 2008. According to the French press, Sarkozy wanted to play a role in mediating in the post-conflict atmosphere, but had to send messages through Cairo, as it is the only foreign capital to maintain open communications with Hamas.

Sarkozy’s Mediterranean Union project also depends on Egyptian backing.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama’s administration has been trying to improve relations with the Arab world, within which Egypt is an important player.