Standing side by side with Chadian President Idriss Deby at the presidential place in N’Djamena, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Jan. 20 the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries, stating that "Chad is a very important country, and very important for Israel." Israeli media titled the event as historic, and correspondents from Jerusalem sent home descriptions of the city and its inhabitants for all Israelis to take part in the celebration.

Indeed, the resumption of bilateral ties, which were broken in the 1970s following Arab anti-Israeli pressure, is cause for celebration for Israeli diplomacy and a clear sign that winds in Muslim African countries are changing. Yet the enthusiastic coverage of the visit and Netanyahu’s declarations stood in stark contrast to the coverage of another international event two weeks ago on Dec. 31, namely Israel’s official exit from UNESCO. In fact, the word "noncoverage" would have been more appropriate in this case since local media ignored it almost completely.

The Israeli resolution to exit UNESCO was taken about a year ago after US President Donald Trump decided in October 2017 that the United States would quit the UN agency. At the time, Trump argued that UNESCO was bias against Israel, which was why the Americans were leaving. Israel rushed to join the United States, announcing that it would do the same. Still, for many pundits, the explanation provided by Trump was not the real reason behind his decision to bolt. There was the issue of financing, of course. More so, leaving UNESCO and stopping the American contribution was part of a global Trump approach against international organizations.

Ever since he took office, Trump expressed his dislike and contempt of the UN, of international law and even of the European Union (EU), considering them ineffective and anti-American. Apart from quitting UNESCO, the United States also withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in June 2018, and senior American emissaries sharply criticized institutions like the International Criminal Court in The Hague.