Are the Arab states at UNESCO changing their anti-Israel voting patterns?
Arab members of the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are expected to withdraw their biannual resolution renouncing Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, according to Carmel Shama Hacohen, Israel’s ambassador to that organization,.
The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that UNESCO was expected to hold yet another anti-Israel vote on Friday, but according to Shama Hacohen, the board will agree to delay the vote for six months.
“Time will tell whether this is a tactical change or a new approach. If it is, it is significant progress toward wiping the table clean from the incitement and politicization against us in the organization,” Shama Hacohen said, according to the Post.
“It could be a significant step toward the elimination of these proposals altogether,” he underscored
UNESCO has approved several anti-Israel resolutions in the past. A 2016 resolution that ignored Jewish ties to its holiest sites, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, referring to them instead as the Muslim al-Haram al-Sharif and the Buraq Plaza, created an international crisis.
Israel prepared for another battle this weekend, but with less than a week to go, it appears that for the first time in many years, the executive board may choose not to condemn Israel at all.
Shama Hacohen said he is still preparing for all options.
“I won’t believe it [the delay] has happened until I hear the gavel descend and the chairman’s announcement,” he said.
Most recently, UNESCO voted to declare Hebron’s Old City, including the Cave of the Patriarchs, a Palestinian heritage site.
By: World Israel News Staff