Israel blasts UNESCO’s ‘deluded attempt’ to debunk Jewish link to Jerusalem

PM Netanyahu says U.N. cultural body “has lost all legitimacy” • President Rivlin: UNESCO has disgraced itself • Opposition Leader Herzog: Agency “gives diplomacy a bad name” • U.S. lawmakers urge UNESCO “not to rewrite Jerusalem’s history.”

The UNESCO decision denying Jewish links to the Temple Mount is an “ignorant attempt to change history,” Israel says

Israel on Thursday leveled scathing criticism at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for passing a controversial resolution denying any Jewish link to the Temple Mount and Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Condemnation for the “delusional,” “ignorant” and “disgraceful” decision was heard from across the political spectrum. U.S. lawmakers also lambasted the decision and urged UNESCO “not to rewrite Jerusalem’s history.”

The proposal, presented to UNESCO by the Palestinian Authority, along with Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, condemns Israel on several issues over its care of the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Twenty-four UNESCO members voted in favor of the resolution, 26 abstained, and six opposed it. UNESCO’s Executive Board is scheduled to ratify the resolution next week.

UNESCO passed a similar resolution in April referring to the Temple Mount solely as Al-Aqsa mosque and to the Western Wall only as the Al-Buraq Plaza, drawing harsh criticism from Israel.

“To say Israel has no link to the Temple Mount is like saying that China has no link to the Great Wall, or that Egypt has no connection to the pyramids,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out. “With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost what little legitimacy it still had.”

Netanyahu added that the decision demonstrates UNESCO’s ignorance of the Bible.

He also blasted UNESCO for taking part in the Palestinians’ “theater of the absurd,” saying, “It’s one thing that they [UNESCO] are not versed in the Bible, but I suggest the members of UNESCO visit the Arch of Titus in Rome, where you can see what the Romans brought back to Rome after they destroyed and pillaged the Temple 2,000 years ago. There you can see, engraved on the Arch of Titus, the seven-branched menorah, which is a symbol of the Jewish people and the symbol of the Jewish state today. Next, UNESCO will accuse Emperor Titus of Zionist propaganda.

“I believe that the historical truth is more powerful than this and the truth will prevail.”

The resolution was opposed by the United States, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Estonia.

It was backed by Russia, China, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, the Dominican Republic, Senegal, Sudan, Vietnam and Chad.

Albania, Argentina, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, El Salvador, Spain, France, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda, Paraguay, South Korea, St. Kitts and Nevis, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago chose to abstain.

Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, said the fact that no European country voted in favor of the proposal was due to Israel’s considerable public diplomacy effort.

“This decision is outrageous, but for the first time, the Palestinians had zero support from Western countries. They [the Palestinians] have lost all support in Europe, including from France and even Sweden,” he said.

‘UNESCO has disgraced itself’

On Twitter, Netanyahu wondered, “What’s next? A UNESCO decision denying the connection between peanut butter and jelly? Batman and Robin? Rock and roll?” The tweet went viral almost immediately.

President Reuven Rivlin harshly criticized the U.N. body, saying it had “disgraced itself” by endorsing the Palestinian bid.

“No forum or international body can presume to deny the inextricable link between the Jewish people, the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. Any organization that does so simply embarrasses itself,” he said.

Opposition Leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) blasted UNESCO for “giving diplomacy a bad name.”

“Whoever wants to rewrite history, to distort facts 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,” he said in a statement.

“On this matter there is no disagreement in Israel, and I urge UNESCO to withdraw this bizarre resolution and to engage in protecting, not distorting, human history.”

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said, “The Jewish people, who for thousands of years have been keeping the Temple Mount in their prayers, don’t need UNESCO’s validation of our historic link to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.”

Culture Minister Miri Regev said the resolution was “anti-Semitic. If this is an example of UNESCO standards, then all their world heritage sites classifications should be re-evaluated.”

Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel suggested “a few more useful resolutions UNESCO could pass: The moon is made of cheese; Jews have horns; the Bible does not exist, and UNESCO is actually the committee for the eradication of the Jewish heritage. Come to think of it, the last one is not all that far-fetched.”

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said, “The U.N. is breaking its own records of ignorance, anti-Semitism and irrelevance.”

Zionist Union MK Shelly Yachimovich said the decision was tainted with political bias: “UNESCO’s decision denying the link between Jewish people, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is reprehensible. It enslaves and rewrite history for political purposes, and its drenched in anti-Semitism.

“Whatever political differences and criticism I have with Prime Minister Netanyahu are set aside at this time. No Israeli policy — by any Israeli prime minister — justifies such a distorted resolution.”

MK Merav Michaeli (Zionist Union) called UNESCO’s decision “outrageous,” but also criticized the government, calling it a “diplomatic failure” by Israel’s mission to the U.N.

Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon leveled criticism at the U.N. body as well as the Foreign Ministry: “This decision says a lot about the disappointing place UNESCO has come to, but also says a lot about where Israel’s foreign relations have come to. There is an epic failure by the Foreign Ministry, and the man who for over a year has been insisting on being foreign minister — Netanyahu.”

The Palestinians welcomed the UNESCO decision.

A statement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ office said the resolution “sent a clear message by the international community against the occupation and Israeli policies.”

U.S. lawmakers denounce resolution

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticized UNESCO’s decision on Facebook, writing: “I have said on numerous occasions that in a Trump administration, the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the one true capital of Israel.

“The United Nations’ attempt to disconnect the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore Israel’s 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of the enormous anti-Israel bias of the U.N.

“Jerusalem is the enduring capital of the Jewish people and the overwhelming majority of Congress has voted to recognize Jerusalem as just that. Further, the decision by the Obama administration to strike the word ‘Israel’ after the word ‘Jerusalem’ in the president’s text was a capitulation to Israel’s enemies, and a posthumous embarrassment to Shimon Peres, whose memory the president was attempting to honor.

In a Trump administration, Israel will have a true, loyal and lasting friend in the United States of America.”

Also on Thursday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) led a bipartisan effort criticizing UNESCO for trying to “delegitimize Israel.”

Ros-Lehtinen, Cruz and 37 other lawmakers signed a letter to members of the Executive Board of UNESCO, urging them to vote against the resolution.

“As the 200th session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization prepares to meet in the coming days in Paris, France, we write to urge your mission to oppose Item 25 of the provisional agenda under ‘Occupied Palestine’ that diminishes the historic and verified Jewish and Christian ties to the Old City of Jerusalem,” the letter reads.

“As acknowledged by the draft text of Item 25, the Old City of Jerusalem is important to the three monotheistic religions. Numerous archaeological excavations have uncovered a myriad of antiquities that scientifically prove the historical connection of all three religions to Jerusalem, such as the discovery of the Pool of Siloam or the restoration of floor tiles of the Second Temple in the City of David. We celebrate the heritage and cultural ties of these religions to Jerusalem and the importance of Jerusalem to millions of people around the world.

“Yet, this resolution seems to prioritize the Muslim heritage of the Old City, while diminishing the ties of either of the other religions. For example, the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, along with the Western Wall … are described exclusively as Muslim holy sites and referred to only by their Muslim names … implying that the title is unofficial and not based on historic fact.

“UNESCO’s mission is to build intercultural understanding through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity,” the letter continued. “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.”

The American lawmakers warned that “attempting to erase the Jewish and Christian connection to this sacred city will further damage the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. It is incumbent upon all member states of the Executive Board to respect and protect the religious, cultural and historical significance of Jerusalem as they would all other World Heritage sites and to uphold the values and ideals enshrined in UNESCO’s Constitution.”

In a separate statement, Ros-Lehtinen said she was “proud to lead this initiative with Ted [Cruz] and be joined by so many of our colleagues in sending this bipartisan and bicameral letter to these member delegations of UNESCO’s Executive Board, urging them to do the right thing and oppose this shameful resolution which seeks to undermine Jewish and Christian ties to Jerusalem.”

She noted that the resolution’s “ill intent is unmistakable: to deny the historical record of the Jewish people’s connections to their holiest city and to imply that Jerusalem is inconsequential to Jews and Christians, with the intent of laying the groundwork for additional UN efforts to delegitimize Israel and undermine its status as the capital of the Jewish state.”

Cruz issued a statement saying, “The U.N.’s obsessive hostility toward Israel will be on display yet again this week as UNESCO considers another blatantly biased resolution that unjustly singles out our close ally Israel with false accusations and criticism, and attempts to erase the specific deep-rooted, historical connection of Jews and Christians to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.

“For thousands of years, Jerusalem has played a defining, central role in the history and identity of the Jewish people. For Christians, Jerusalem is a seminal spiritual site. This resolution flies in the face of, among other things, science as recent archaeological excavations, notably in the City of David, have revealed incontrovertible, physical evidence that reaffirms Jewish and Christian ties to the holy city of Jerusalem. Members of the UNESCO Executive Board should vote against this intentional campaign to deny these historical truths, rewrite the history of Jerusalem and delegitimize Israel.”