UNITED STATES TO PULL OUT OF UNESCO!
The withdrawal was confirmed by U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to be publicly named discussing the decision.
It was not clear when the move would be formally announced. The decision comes as the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is voting to choose a new director this week, in tense balloting overshadowed by the agency's funding troubles and divisions over Palestinian membership.
Many saw the vote to include Palestine as evidence of long-running, ingrained anti-Israel bias within the United Nations, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters. UNESCO is best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions around the world. The agency also works to improve education for girls in desperately poor countries and in scientific fields, to promote better understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust and to defend media freedom, among other activities.
The Trump Administration has been preparing for a likely withdrawal for months, and a decision was expected before the end of the year, according to U.S. officials. Several diplomats who were to have been posted to the mission this summer were told that their positions were on hold and advised to seek other jobs.
In addition, the Trump Administration's proposed budget for the next fiscal year contains no provision for the possibility that UNESCO funding restrictions might be lifted. The lack of staffing and funding plans for UNESCO by the U.S. have been accompanied by repeated denunciations of UNESCO by senior U.S. officials, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
The U.S. pulled out of UNESCO in the 1980s because Washington viewed it as mismanaged and used for political reasons, then rejoined it in 2003.
THE CELEBRATION OF SUCCOTH (FEAST OF TABERNACLES)
by Sara Coughlin
This Holiday is the joyous follow-Up To Yom Kippur
Sukkot, the weeklong Jewish festival that not only signals the end of the high holidays but holds both historical and seasonal significance, as well.
Rabbi Ari D. Weiss of Cornell Hillel tells Refinery29 that Sukkot is the final harvest festival in the Jewish calendar, with Passover and Shavuot preceding it. It's specifically associated with the end of the fruit harvest in Israel, which was historically considered a period of bounty. So, Sukkot was traditionally a chance for Jewish people to pause and celebrate the newfound wealth that comes with the harvest, but with an understanding that wealth can be temporary.
Rabbi Weiss compares the spirit of Sukkot to that of Thanksgiving: "The underlying message is to give thanks, but also to recognize that it's not all ours. It's not really our work that creates the wealth - it's really greater things that do that, whether it's nature or God."
It's from that desire to show gratitude - and to demonstrate the impermanence of wealth - that it's customary to build a temporary structure known as a sukkah ahead of or during Sukkot. "When we're the wealthiest, we actually uproot ourselves and go into temporary dwellings for seven days to celebrate," Rabbi Weiss explains. He adds that a sukkah is also a symbolic nod to the shelters in which the Israelites lived while wandering the desert for 40 years. This moment in Jewish history is a point of focus throughout Sukkot.
In addition to spending time in a sukkah, people will use the week of Sukkot (which now has concluded) to enjoy fun outings with their families. Observant Jews will also attend special synagogue services, which incorporate seasonal imagery. Known as the four species, four types of plants are blessed and used during Sukkot prayers: a citron, a palm leaf, willow branches, and myrtle branches.
Two holidays arrive at the conclusion of Sukkot - Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Rabbi Weiss says that these are celebrated as one in Israel, but, depending on the denomination of Judaism one follows, they are viewed as separate occasions elsewhere. Where the former marks the official end of the high holidays, the latter is more of an opportunity to celebrate the Torah.
As this festival draws to a close, people return their attention to the year ahead, only now with the reminder that simplicity and gratitude should go hand-in-hand with moments of joy.
Biblical information is found in Leviticus 23 - a listing of "holy convocations" or "feasts of the LORD" - May the LORD God of Israel open the eyes and hearts of His people to the coming of the Jewish Messiah! To God be the glory!
