UNESCO Fiasco

Dear editor: 

They’ve done it again.  The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) approved a controversial and Anti-Jewish resolution that ignores Jewish (and Christian) ties to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.  The adopted draft resolution entitled “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls” was passed by a large majority.

The resolution accuses Israel of various violations, echoed the previous week’s decision referring to the Temple Mount compound solely by its Muslim names, “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and defined it only as “a Muslim holy site of worship.”  Ignoring history, scientific discoveries and proof, the panel ignored the site of the two Biblical temples.  The Mount is the holiest place in Judaism.  The report did not mention the importance of Jerusalem’s Old City for “the three monotheistic religions.”  This is another absurd resolution against the State of Israel, the Jewish people and historical truth.  The fate of the resolution would be no different from UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 which equated Zionism with racism and was overturned 16 years after its adoption in 1975.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN stated, “UNESCO embarrassed itself to the tune of the Palestinian pipers.  All attempts to deny our heritage, distort history and disconnect the Jewish people from our capital and our homeland, are doomed to fail.”  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that UNESCO’s second vote on the matter showed the organization remains a “theater of the absurd.” He said that while “extremist Muslim forces are destroying mosques and churches, Israel is the only country in the region that protects them and allows freedom of worship. Israel respects Muslim and other faiths and their presence in our holiest of places, and it is tragic that the other side doesn’t have a leadership that will do the same.”

To the United Nations and its UNESCO arm, all I can say is Stop the Bigotry and clean your house.  Israel and its capital Jerusalem will stand and Jewish people throughout the world will stand for its proven historical claims to the site.