UNESCO Western Wall resolution condemned
COMMUNAL leaders have slammed a resolution set to be considered this week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) that designates the Kotel as a Muslim holy site.
COMMUNAL leaders have slammed a resolution set to be considered this week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) that designates the Kotel as a Muslim holy site.
Making no mention of the Western Wall’s Jewish heritage, let alone its status as the holiest site in Judaism, the motion describes it as “an integral part” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and calls it “Buraq Plaza”, referring to the Islamic tradition that Muhammad’s winged steed (buraq) was tethered there when he ascended to heaven.
Submitted by Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, the resolution also describes Jerusalem as “the occupied capital of Palestine”, lays blame for the recent spate of violence solely on Israel and condemns attacks on the mosque by Jewish extremists, while accusing Israel of trying to break the status quo of the site.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry decried the motion as “an attempt to redraw history and blur the connection between the Jewish people and its holiest place and to create a false reality”.
Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) executive director Colin Rubenstein said, “It is ironic that while Israel is falsely accused of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount, the Palestinian leadership is actively seeking to change the status quo of the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest place of worship. It is also outrageous that UNESCO, an organisation intended to protect cultural heritage, is denying the Jewish people’s historical and religious connection to the site, and further inflaming tensions in Jerusalem.”
Stating that UNESCO’s credibility was at stake, AIJAC’s Jeremy Jones – who spoke at the inaugural UNESCO World Culture Forum in 2013 – added, “No academic, no scholar, no religious personality and no fundamentally moral human being should be anything other than outraged at this move.”
The sentiment was echoed by B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, who labelled the resolution “outrageous and vile”, claiming it “maliciously engages in historical revisionism” and adding that it “will irreparably harm relations during these volatile times, and further damage the prospects of dialogue and peace”.
AJN STAFF
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