SWC to UNESCO Director General:
“Turning over the Western Wall to the Palestinians would be like turning over Mount Sinai to ISIS.”
Historic Muslim Jerusalem Publication Sent to UNESCO by SWC at the Request of Director General
Amidst the unprecedented violence in Israel and the international uproar over Arab attempts to have UNESCO identify Jerusalem’s Western Wall – Judaism’s holiest site – as Palestinian, senior officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center had a conference call with UNESCO’s Director General Irina Bokova earlier today where Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Dean and Founder and Associate Dean reiterated that:
• This resolution is a redline for the entire world’s Jewish community
• It is an affront to all Jews – left and right, secular and religious – and an attack on Judaism
• If such a resolution would be approved it would certainly increase the violence in Jerusalem and destroy any prospects for peace in the Middle East
• This resolution would damage UNESCO’s core mission of protecting historic and religious sites around the world
• Declaring the Western Wall a Palestinian site would be like “turning over Mount Sinai to ISIS”
Director General Bokova, who earlier expressed her opposition to the resolution, is in the midst of ongoing diplomatic consultations. She emphasized that she is urging member states to return to UNESCO’s core mandate.
Center officials also brought to her attention a publication (pictured right – click to enlarge) by the Supreme Muslim Council, which was published annually from 1924 to 1953. Referring to the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount, the document says, “The site is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest (perhaps from pre-historic) times. Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute.”
