World Jewish Congress demands UNESCO committee reject ‘blatantly dishonest’ draft decision condemning Israel and ignoring Jewish ties to Jerusalem
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder has called on members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Committee to reject the “blatantly dishonest, inflammatory, and one-sided” draft decision up for adoption that accuses Israel of damaging the character of Jerusalem and ignores the Jewish and Christian connections to the holy sites in the city.“The members of the World Heritage Committee have an opportunity to rectify the error made by the UNESCO Executive Board last week and reject this blatantly dishonest, inflammatory, and fundamentally flawed decision, which
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder addressing the conference at the United Nations in New York Photo: Shahar Azran
blindly condemns Israel and denies the importance of Jerusalem to all three monotheistic religions,” Lauder said. “Denying the fact that the Temple Mount existed prior to the advent of Islam, and that it is the holiest site to Jews, is a clear distortion of history and an aggression against the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”
“As seen again and again, UNESCO has been hijacked by countries seeking to demonize Israel for their own political gain, gutting it of its credibility and preventing it from serving its function of adopting fair and balanced decisions based on fact, for the sake of the entire international community. We urge the members of this committee, and of all UN bodies, to reject these attempts to rewrite history, and to stand up for truth and justice,” Lauder said.
Lauder also called on the Executive Board, which is expected to vote on another similar draft decision in April, to “stand up against the next inflammatory draft and embrace the opportunity to repair the damage already done. This malevolence is spreading like a computer virus, and like any virus, the only way to stop it is to reboot the entire system.”
Like the decision adopted by the Executive Board on 18 October 2016, the World Heritage Committee’s draft accuses Israel of provocation and illegal excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem, and makes no mention of the Temple Mount, referring to it only by its Arabic name Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and declaring it “a Muslim holy site of worship and as an integral part of a World Heritage Site.”
Absolutely right, Erica. And we have to do that every time, about every issue – not just with UNESCO. Until the world is educated.
Keep on their backs. Stay calm and focus on statements of
Fact and historical evidence. They will reverse their decision
Under pressure and in the eyes of expert witnesses who will
Come down on UNESCO like a Ton of bricks