UNESCO’s motto is “Building peace where it starts – in the minds of men and women.” Sounds admirably lofty doesn’t it? Here’s the problem with this cute little motto of theirs. Peace, in the minds of the UNESCO organization is specifically and narrowly defined. Israel and Jews need not apply.
Yes, that’s correct. UNESCO’s virulent anti-Semitism is on full display this week.
UNESCO passed the draft resolution on Thursday. According to the document posted on UNESCO’s website and dated October 12, the holy sites will be referred to by their Arabic name, Haram esh-Sharif, while the Hebrew terms will only appear in quotation marks in UN references.
The draft also refers to “Occupied Palestine” and the need to “safeguard the Palestinian cultural heritage and the distinctive character of east Jerusalem,” referencing Islam’s third holiest site, the Al-Aqsa mosque.
A blatant attempt to sweep centuries of known Jewish history aside because of hatred. The draft resolution the group voted on is likely as bad or worse as the one UNESCO adopted last April.
24 countries voted for this atrocity. 6 countries voted No – including the United States and Great Britain. 26 other countries didn’t have the guts to vote yes or no, so they abstained.
Understandably, the reaction was one of anger and disbelief that UNESCO would have carried their anti-Semitism this far.
To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall.
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 13, 2016
This #UNESCO resolution is an affront to the truth and a crude attempt to delegitimize the Jewish state. https://t.co/qO91yi4nH6
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) October 13, 2016
The comment below is spot on.
“No forum or body in the world can come and deny the connection between the Jewish people, the Land of Israel and Jerusalem – and any such body that does so simply embarrasses itself,” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said before the vote. “We can understand criticism, but you cannot change history.” [Emphasis Added]
As is this one:
“Whoever wants to rewrite history, to distort fact, and to completely invent the fantasy that the Western Wall and Temple Mount have no connection to the Jewish people, is telling a terrible lie that only serves to increase hatred,” added opposition leader Isaac Herzog. “On this matter there is no disagreement among the people of Israel, and I urge UNESCO to withdraw this bizarre resolution and to engage in protecting, not distorting, human history.”
The truly sad thing about the UNESCO vote is that it further weakens the deciding factor for Palestinian freedom: Israelis' trust
— Haviv Rettig Gur (@havivrettiggur) October 13, 2016
Has the White House or Administration said anything? Well, yes. The tepid response included the words ‘highly politicized, unhelpful, and one-sided.’ Golly gee, that’ll show them! SMH
To their credit, 39 members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter soundly criticizing UNESCO’s actions. In the letter they make the following point:
UNESCO’s mission is to build intercultural understanding through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. This unnecessarily divisive and selective resolution undermines the very purpose and integrity of UNESCO by seeking to rewrite Jerusalem’s history, rejects Jerusalem’s multi-cultural heritage, and undercuts Jerusalem’s extraordinary diversity. Forged in the aftermath of World War II, UNESCO strives to establish peace on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity.
UNESCO, and by the same token, the UN has never been a fan of Israel. This resolution pulled aside the curtain of that hatred and racism even further. How much farther will they go? Its anyone’s guess. UNESCO’s heinously anti-semitic actions yesterday fly directly in the face of the mission in which the organization was conceived, thus rendering their credibility null and void.
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