Sep 27, 2016

Greater Miami Jewish Federation and Our Jewish Community Relations Council Condemn UNESCO Resolution

October 14, 2016

The United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resolution, adopted earlier this week by its Executive Board regarding the Temple Mount and Israel’s most holy sites, is unconscionable and outrageous in its indisputable revisionist history and anti-Zionist language.

The resolution is an affront to the Jewish people and its two-millennia connection to the Western Wall and the Temple it once supported. By acknowledging the holy sites both on and around the Temple Mount solely by their Arabic names, this resolution may be used by some to invalidate any claim the Jewish people has to its heritage. The result will be to heighten the already palpable religious tensions in Israel and the surrounding region.

The resolution, submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, is broad-sweeping in its condemnation of Israel, one-sided, historically inaccurate, politicized and runs counter to UNESCO’s very mission. Following the release of the resolution, UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, issued a statement which underscored that Jerusalem is a sacred city of three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Bokova said, “The heritage of Jerusalem, is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship to the city.”

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation and our Jewish Community Relations Council call on UNESCO’s Executive Board to reject this resolution in its final vote next week at its closing plenary and to explicitly recognize the Jewish people’s historic and biblical connections to holy sites in Jerusalem.

We thank the United States, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany and Estonia, who voted against the resolution, which denies Jewish ties to two of our religion’s most holy sites: The Temple Mount, on which Haram al-Sharif resides, and the Western Wall. This is a gross attempt by UNESCO to erase history and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

It should be noted that on Tuesday, October 18, UNESCO adopted the controversial Arab-sponsored resolution, although Mexico changed its “in favor” vote to an abstention.