December 30, 1983

The United States formally announced today that it intended to withdraw from Unesco in a year's time. But at the same time, it said that it would strengthen its participation in the United Nations and other international agencies. In a letter to Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary of State George P. Shultz said, ''We wish you to understand that our withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization does not presage any wider disengagement from the United Nations or its other specialized agencies.'' Gregory J. Newell, the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, said at a news conference this afternoon that the United States ''not only remained committed but would redouble its efforts'' in the other organizations. The decision to withdraw from Unesco, he said, was made only after the group refused to adjust its policies to meet American and other Western complaints.

Earlier this month, on the sixth night of Hanukkah, about 150 Jews and Arabs gathered in the lobby of a building at Hebrew University for the lighting of the candles and the singing of the Jewish prayer. The Jews then sang Hebrew songs; the Arabs stood respectfully, watching and listening. It was a rare moment of concord in the broad sweep of Arab-Jewish conflict, a fleeting symbol of the increasing effort being made in Israel by small groups of Jews and Arabs to struggle against the tide of hatred and suspicion. The group had assembled between classes at the Martin Buber Institute for Adult Education, where the Jews were studying Arabic and the Arabs Hebrew. The Jews come mostly out of an idealistic attitude that one should know the language of one's neighbor; the Arabs come out of a pragmatic conviction that one should speak the language of one's rulers.

A dispatch yesterday on the press in Suriname incorrectly described Interpress Service, an international news agency specializing in coverage of third world countries. It is an unaffiliated, nonprofit cooperative and opposes all restrictions on the press.

A fire that killed two children and a workman in an East Side brownstone home late Wednesday erupted when paint remover was accidentally ignited, the Fire Department said yesterday. A third child and a baby sitter were injured in the blaze. They are expected to recover.

The Government's index of leading economic indicators fell four-tenths of 1 percent in November, the first decline in 15 months, the Commerce Department reported today. But the Administration and independent economists expressed little concern about the dip in the index, which is intended to forecast future swings in economic activity. Some analysts said they expected the figure to be revised to a small gain when more complete data are available, while others said that the decline was a positive development.