October 19, 2015 — New York, New York
AJC is calling on the UNESCO Executive Board to reject an Arab-sponsored resolution that denies any Jewish link to the holiest site in Judaism, the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Initiated by the Palestinian Authority, the proposed resolution would "affirm" the Western Wall as an “integral part” of Al Aqsa Mosque, one of two mosques on the Temple Mount, the site where the first and second Jewish Temples once stood.
Six Arab members of the Executive Board – Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates – are expected to introduce the measure for a vote as early as tomorrow.
“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is shamelessly seeking to undermine truth, change the status quo, add to an already volatile situation that he irresponsibly created, and thereby once again set back the quest for peace and coexistence,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.
"We urge UNESCO Executive Board member states to do the right and responsible thing -- reject this naked assault on historical fact and brazen effort to strip the Jewish people of the age-old link to our most sacred site, the Western Wall."
The Western Wall resolution comes four years after UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinian Authority as a full member, an action that led the U.S. to cut off funding to the UN body, and five years after another UNESCO resolution declared that two historic Jewish sites, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb, are “Palestinian.” Both sites are, in fact, among the most sacred in Jewish tradition.
