UNITED NATIONS, New York (WJC) — The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday adopted by a secret ballot a decision which accuses Israel of damaging the character of Jerusalem and ignores the Jewish and Christian connections to the holy sites in the city. Earlier, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder had called on the 21 members of the committee to reject the “blatantly dishonest, inflammatory, and one-sided” text.
Of the 20 WHC members who cast their vote, 10 voted in favor of the text, 8 abstained and 2 voted against. The members on the committee are Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ronald S. Lauder called on the body to reject the draft decision. “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 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 UNESCO Executive Board, which is expected to vote on another similar draft decision next 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.”
US representative says UNESCO’s legitimacy is undermined
After the vote, a number of UNESCO representatives made statements. The representative of Kazakhstan strongly condemned the politicization of UNESCO and the WHC and said such resolution should in future be adopted by consensus. The UNESCO representative of Indonesia said his country was committed to two-state solution and peace process. Its representative stressed the importance of the international community in resolving. Political issues are beyond the mandate of the WHC, expressed regret that the decision went through a political process.
Israel’s UNESCO ambassador said yet another resolution against Israel and Jewish people had been adopted. Israel was the only country in the region that was actually upholding UNESCO’s values. “The battle for Jerusalem has not started with the last vote, and it will not end with today’s. Jerusalem’s future will be determined by truth.” This decision was like the 1975 UN General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism, which was rescinded in 1991. He said the resolution belonged to the “garbage place of history” and then dumped the paper in a waste bin on his table.
Jordan’s representative said the role of UNESCO was to preserve the situation in Jerusalem prior to the Israeli occupation in 1967, while the Palestinian UNESCO ambassador said it had been a consensual resolution which had been tabled by “our European colleagues” in Istanbul earlier this year. He said he was “surprised” by the reaction of the Israeli ambassador, and Israeli anger was “completely unjustified.” He then accused Israel of “trying to politicize religion.”
The US representative to UNESCO said the item should have been defeated as it damaged the reputation of the organization. The text was inflammatory and one-sided. Member states of UNESCO must focus on core priorities. “Politicized decisions don’t further the mandate of UNESCO, she said, but undermined the legitimacy of the organization.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) issued this comment:
AJC deplored the UNESCO World Heritage Committee adoption today of a resolution seeking to erase the age-old Jewish connection to
the Old City of Jerusalem. The measure passed by a vote of 10 to 2, with 8
abstentions.
The resolution, “The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls,” follows the UNESCO Executive Board resolution of October 13 that deleted Jewish references from holy sites in Jerusalem.
“In back-to-back measures, during the holiest month in Judaism, member states of two UNESCO bodies have thrown truth to the wind. Instead, they have succumbed to the pernicious designs of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Arab countries that have long sought to exploit this forum to castigate Israel and deny the indisputable link of the Jewish people with Jerusalem,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “It would be like refusing to recognize Islam’s connection to Mecca and Catholicism’s ties to Rome. This step may be self-satisfying to the Palestinian leadership and its allies, but, let’s be clear, it moves us further away from any prospect of peace and coexistence.”
Over the years, the World Heritage Committee has adopted 50 resolutions
providing for the inscription of properties around the world – mostly in
countries ravaged by armed conflicts or afflicted by natural disasters and other adverse conditions – on the “List of World Heritage in Danger.” These resolutions have uniformly employed descriptive, technical language.
Conversely, the resolution adopted today, reaffirming the inscription of the Old City of Jerusalem on the “List of World Heritage in Danger” in 1982, is replete with political terms.
Like the UNESCO decision, the World Heritage Committee resolution repeatedly refers to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, only by its Muslim name, Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif, and ignores any Jewish, as well as Christian, connection to this site.
For the record, Judaism — and the centrality of Jerusalem to Jewish identity, worship, and history — predates Islam by millennia, and Christianity, with its linkage to Biblical sites in Jerusalem, predates Islam by centuries. The only time adherents of all three religions have enjoyed complete freedom of worship in Jerusalem has been under Israeli administration.
Laudably, both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova criticized the October 13 UNESCO action on Jerusalem.
That measure was adopted by a plurality (24), but not a majority, of voting countries, the largest number of whom either abstained (26) or voted against (6). Subsequently, Brazil and Mexico, which voted in favor, voiced regret for their decision, and Italy, which abstained, later said it should have voted “no.”
Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions. “The Al Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram al-Sharif, the sacred shrine of Muslims, is also the Har HaBayit – or Temple Mount – whose Western Wall is the holiest place in Judaism, a few steps away from the Saint Sepulcher church and the Mount of Olives, which is revered by Christians,” he said.
“Any perceived undertaking to repudiate the undeniable common reference for these sites does not serve the interests of peace and will only feed violence and radicalism,” the Secretary-General added.
“To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list,” said Bokova.
Members of the World Heritage Committee are: Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Voting is by secret ballot.
The American Jewish Congress issued this statement:
– Upon hearing of the adoption of a resolution by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee that denies Jewish and Christian ties to Jerusalem, American Jewish Congress President Jack Rosen issued the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed with the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for adopting, today, a racist resolution that attacks Jews’ and Christians’ historical connection to Jerusalem, as this also runs counter to American values.
“Over the past month, the American Jewish Congress has been engaged in meetings and discussions with senior officials from the United States and leaders around the world, to educate and raise awareness of the dangerous consequences from these resolutions. Our advocacy efforts included: meeting with UN ambassadors, heads of state, and asking members of the U.S. Congress to individually let ambassadors of the UNESCO voting countries know that this is unacceptable. American support against today’s resolution came from letters and statements issued by members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and by a statement issued last night by presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton:
‘It is disappointing and wrong to see that UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is considering a resolution on Jerusalem that fails to recognize and respect the deep and historic ties of the Jewish people to Jerusalem and its holy sites. Tomorrow’s planned vote follows an outrageous UNESCO vote last week on a similar resolution. I have always stood with Israel to reject these biased actions at the United Nations, and I always will.’
“We extend our deepest appreciation to the member countries of the World Heritage Committee that either abstained or opposed the resolution. As we look to the leadership network built in our annual International Mayors Conference program, we wish to send a special thank you to: Argentine President Mauricio Macri for Argentina abstaining on the first vote that occurred in the UNESCO Executive Committee and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for his recent statement and commitment. We also thank Mexico and Brazil for taking a stand against the matter.
“The American Jewish Congress will continue to monitor the situation, and work towards the reversal of this one-sided decision, including efforts with whoever will become the next president of the United States. Further, we remain deeply committed to our mission of building ties with leaders early on, so we can prepare for future stunts like these at the United Nations.”