The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) has called on UNESCO’s leadership to reject a draft resolution, to be voted on next week, which denies the Jewish people’s historical ties to the old city of Jerusalem. The joint Palestinian-Jordanian resolution also seeks to return Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa Mosque to “the historic status quo” which existed before the 1967 war and refers to the Temple Mount exclusively by its Muslim name and to the Western Wall Plaza as the Al-Buraq Plaza.
Dr. Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC issued the following statement:
“I urge UNESCO’s Executive to reject this one-sided and wounding resolution that seeks to delegitimize Israel through a false narrative which denies two thousand years of Jewish history and Israel’s unquestionable permanent connection to these holy places. Putting the Western Wall Plaza in quotation marks (after using the Muslim name for the site) aims to cynically diminish and belittle the Jewish people’s eternal bond to this holy site. It is time that UNESCO’s leadership realises that such partisan and hypocritical actions harm the prospect of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and further stoke the flames of division in Jerusalem that have led to murderous terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians by individuals who have been fed a steady diet of lies and incitement. Throughout, Israel has protected the rights of all faiths and has continuously acknowledged the historical connection between Islam and Muslim holy sites in Israel. If UNESCO aids and abets in this erasure of Jewish history, and becomes an enabling vehicle for this immoral and dangerous assault on Jewish heritage, it will irreparably damage its reputation and integrity.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677