Growing concern that an Iranian will head UNESCO

"There is growing concern in the Israeli Mission to the United Nations that a prominent UN agency could soon find itself with an Iranian representative at its helm, Israel Hayom reported.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been at the center of a string of controversies involving Israel recently, including the passage of resolutions denying the Jewish link to Jerusalem and key religious sites in the city, including the Temple Mount.

Iran's representative at UNESCO, Ahmad Jalali, is a leading candidate in the UNESCO Steering Committee's upcoming internal election.

The UNESCO Steering Committee, which includes 58 countries of the 195 currently represented at the UN, holds elections for committee chair every two years. The current UNESCO committee chair is Michael Worbs, a member of Germany's UN delegation and a part of UNESCO's Group I, made up of Western states..."