Although an upcoming UNESCO resolution will not directly refer to the Temple Mount and Western Wall, Israel will continue to fight back against resolutions undermining the Jewish People’s historic ties to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.
A resolution on the status of Jerusalem to be proposed by Arab states at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on May 1 will not specifically address the Temple Mount nor the Western Wall, according to a draft of the text received by Israeli officials.
Israel’s Ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hacohen, expressed a sense of determination to fight against any resolution in the UN body that would undermine Jewish ties to other historic sites throughout Israel.
“It is preferable to accept a draft resolution that does not harm and directly stab at the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, which are the heart of the Jewish people, but we have no intention of staying silent when they stab us in other places, even if they are less sensitive,” said Hacohen.
“We will work in the coming month around the world and around the clock in order to continue to explain our truth, both contemporary and historical, and we’re expecting, but not counting on, sanity and fairness from our neighbors,” he added.
Last fall, Hacohen publicly threw an anti-Semitic UNESCO resolution, which denied the Jewish historical connection to the Western Wall and Temple Mount, into the trash.
The upcoming resolution does, however, reference the status of Jerusalem in general, claiming that “any action taken by Israel, the Occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction, and administration on the City of Jerusalem, are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever.”
The resolution also recognizes “the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions.”
By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News