Harebrained UNESCO can’t rewrite history

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Just as a phantasmagoric United Nations vote that the sun rises in the west and sets in the south would be ignored by thinking people, the latest anti-Israel vote by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) would be better written about in satirical prose than discussed seriously in mainstream and Jewish media.

But UNESCO’s harebrained repudiation both of established history and G-d’s words to his holy nation is too toxic to ignore.

It’s the latest salvo in an escalating war against the Jewish people and the state of Israel at the U.N. and elsewhere, and reports suggest that more anti-Israel action at the U.N. will follow the U.S. elections.

In the UNESCO action, its executive board formally approved a resolution on Tuesday that denies a Jewish connection to the Old City of Jerusalem. The approval came five days after the resolution passed in a preliminary vote of the executive board, at which point there were 24 in favor and 6 against, with 26 countries abstaining. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany were among those that voted against the resolution. They were joined by Lithuania, the Netherlands and Estonia. Other European countries abstained.

On Monday, Mexico changed its vote from “in favor” to abstain, saying in a statement, “Changing the vote reiterates the recognition that the government of Mexico gives to the undeniable link of the Jewish people to cultural heritage located in East Jerusalem. It also reflects the deep appreciation that this government has for the Jewish community and in particular for their significant contributions to the welfare and economic, social and cultural development of Mexico.”

It’s the first time since 2010 that Mexico opposed a proposal by the Palestinian-Arab bloc in UNESCO.

However, Mexico fired its Jewish ambassador to UNESCO, Andre Roemer, after Roemer walked out of last week’s preliminary vote in a personal protest, leaving his deputy to cast Mexico’s vote.

“Sadly, the ambassador to UNESCO was sacrificed, but it meant a change to the perennial tradition of following the vote of the Latin American bloc, which passed an absurd and biased resolution by a majority,” wrote Jewish Mexican news portal Enlace Judio.

The UNESCO resolution reportedly refers to the Temple Mount several times as Al Haram Al Sharif, its Islamic name, without mentioning that it is the holiest site in Judaism, according to UN Watch. It also uses the term Buraq Plaza, placing Western Wall Plaza in quotes, appearing to deny a Jewish connection to the site. The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron is referred to as the al-aram al-Ibrahimi; Rachel’s Tomb, outside Bethlehem, is noted as the Bilal ibn Raba Mosque.

Following the vote, Israel suspended cooperation with UNESCO. Education Minister Naftali Bennett accused it of ignoring “thousands of years of Jewish ties to Jerusalem” and aiding “Islamist terror.”