Israel withdraws from Open Government Partnership, citing political bias

In September 2025, Spain barred Israel from attending an OGP conference on its soil, prompting a dismissive response from the organization’s management.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously approved a proposal to withdraw from the Open Government Partnership.

“The OGP has increasingly become a political platform used against Israel,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said. “Recent actions have shown that participation in this partnership no longer serves the interests of the State of Israel.”

Israel joined the international body in 2012, which was established in 2011 under former U.S. President Barack Obama to promote principles of transparency and open governance.

Membership is voluntary, and participating countries are expected to submit action plans and reports on their progress. The organization is intended to be a platform for sharing best practices in open governance.

The move follows several incidents in recent months.

In September 2025, Spain barred Israel from attending an OGP conference on its soil, prompting a dismissive response from the organization’s management.

Israel ultimately did not participate in the October 2025 meeting.

Officials said the partnership has also been used to advance politically motivated inspections of Israel, including following a complaint by a South African civil society group containing what Israel calls “outrageous and baseless allegations.”

Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat said the decision was part of a broader review of Israel’s international organizational partnerships.

“We are committed to engaging with bodies that promote genuine cooperation, not those that waste resources on biased political agendas,” he said.

In mid-January, Israel withdrew from several United Nations agencies, including UN Women; UN Conference on Trade and Development; the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; the UN Alliance of Civilizations; UN Energy; the Global Forum on Migration and Development; and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

In 2025, Israel banned UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) activities.

Israeli officials are prohibited from cooperating with the agency and have demanded it be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.

In January, Israel razed UNRWA’s Jerusalem headquarters.