(C) USUNESCO: CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 006547 SIPDIS FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2015 TAGS: SCUL ETRD EU UNESCO SUBJECT: (C) USUNESCO: CULTURAL DIVERSITY CONVENTION, FRANCE APPLIES PRESSURE TO ISRAEL REF: (a) Paris 4145, b) Paris 6376 (NOTAL),c) State 170909 Classified by Ambassador Louise Oliver, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) At the final negotiating session in Paris on the draft cultural diversity convention, Israel was one of the few countries to stick with the US. (Ref A) ¶2. (C) On Thursday, newly arrived Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO David Kornbluth gave Ambassador Oliver a read-out of his courtesy call on French Cultural Minister Donnedieu de Vabres. According to Kornbluth, as he was leaving, the minister asked him what was Israel's problem with the convention. ¶3. (C) Kornbluth answered that the draft is too protectionist, presents potential conflicts with the WTO and needs more time. In response, Donnediu de Vabres asked a second time why Israel was standing with the US, was it simply to stick with the US or did Israel have real substantive objections to the text? Kornbluth repeated his comments on the text and that Israel would continue to stand by the US. He also reports that the minister was visibly annoyed by Kornbluth's comment about the US. ¶4. (C) Kornbluth has reported his meeting to Jerusalem and the Israeli government is currently reevaluating. He believes his government will not change its policy. He also suggested that a high level demarche to Jerusalem might be a good idea. ¶5. (C) Comment: As we reported ref b, this is the second time that the French have put pressure on the Israelis. It is once again clear that when it comes to the cultural diversity convention, the US is clearly France's target. Pressure will need to be applied to the Israeli government to make sure it stays firm. OLIVER