Israel: UNESCO votes against Jewish connection to Temple Mount

Written by David Fletcher 21 Oct 2016
Israel: UNESCO votes against Jewish connection to Temple Mount

UNESCO, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, at its executive board meeting in Paris passed a Palestinian-backed measure with 24 votes in favour, 6 against and 26 abstentions, referring to the Temple Mount as Al Haram Al Sharif (the Islamic name) without mentioning that it is the holiest site in Judaism. It also used the term Buraq Plaza for the Western Wall Plaza, denying the Jewish connection to the site. Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs is called al-Haram al-Ibrahimi, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem called the Bilal ibn Rabah Mosque. Israel’s delegate to UNESCO said, ‘Israel and the Jewish people don’t require UNESCO’s or any other country’s confirmation of the special connection between the Jewish people and the State of Israel. There is no connection of another people to another place in the world that comes close to the strength and depth of our connection to Jerusalem from a religious, historical and national perspective.’

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