UNESCO nihilistic decision to change history

John Phaltual *

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on 13 October approved preliminary resolutions that deny Judeo-Christian historical connection in Jerusalem. UNESCO’s decision is an affront to Jews and Christians alike. The denial of the connection between Jews and Jerusalem is in violation of its own mandate not to erase the traditions and cultural rights of different peoples around the world.

The vote on the proposal was taken by UNESCO’s 58-member Program and External Relations Commission in advance of its ratification by the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee Executive Board from October 24 to 26. The resolution brazenly entitled “Occupied Palestine” which reflects the general anti-Israel bias that pervades many of the United Nations decisions was supported by 24 nations and opposed by 6 nations, while 26 countries abstained (including India) and two nations were absent in the meeting.

While the resolution asserts that Jerusalem is sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, a special clause dealing with the Temple Mount states the site is sacred only to Muslims and fails to mention that it is sacred to Jews, as well. It mentions neither the Hebrew term for the site- Har HaBayit- nor its English equivalent, the Temple Mount. The site is referred to only by its Muslim names, Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). Further, the resolutions term the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) Plaza by its Arab name, Al Buraq.

The resolutions are not about heritage or preserving it, it’s about replacing it.

The Temple Mount compound has been a repeated flash-point for clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. Here the third Israelite ruler, King Solomon built the First Jewish Temple approximately in 967 BC ( I King 6-9). After the Babylonians destroyed in 586 BC the Jews returning from exile built the Second Temple at the same site under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah in 346 BC ( Book of Ezra).

The Western Wall/Wailing Wall (Kotel Ma’aravi in Hebrew), the outer retaining wall of the Second Jewish Temple, is the holiest site where Jews today can pray, and sits at the bottom of the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. A few steps away there is the most revered site of the Christians, Holy Saint Sepulcher, where Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified and resurrected.

The Muslim refer the Temple Mount as Haram al-Sharif, on it there is the golden Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, regarded by the Muslims as the third holiest site, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The two Mosques were built and completed by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik in 691 A.D.

The resolution is expected to deepened tensions within UNESCO, which is also facing a diplomatic dispute between Japan and China over last year listing of Chinese Rape of Nanking documents on a memory of the world. Now Japan, UNESCO’s second largest funder is threatening to halt funding. The senior US official said the vote showed that the US, the largest donor nation, which withdrew its funding from UNESCO in 2011 in response to acceptance of Palestinian as a state, must become more involved in the organisation.

UNESCO Director-general Irina Bokova released a statement last week, the exact same statement was also released by outgoing UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that the Al Haram al-Sharif, the sacred place of Muslim, is also the Temple Mount. But even in their criticism of the resolution, they failed to rightly identify the Temple Mount as the most sacred site in Judaism.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the vote stating: “The theater of the absurd continues in the UN”, and further said that the decision denying the connection between peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin, and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Netanyahu suggested that the Bible aside, UNESCO members should visit the ‘Arch of Titus’ in Rome, built in the First century by Roman Emperor Titus, which has bas-reliefs depicting the treasures taken as spoils by the Roman legion after destroying the Second Temple in 70 AD. There engraved on the Arch of Titus is the seven-branched candelabrum (Menorah) that is the symbol of the Jewish people, and which is also the symbol of the Jewish state today.

Israel faces stiff fight in next few days over the newest UNESCO vote on Jerusalem. A resolution that would diminish the historic ties of the Jews and Christians to its holiest City Jerusalem is an effort to delegitimize Israel. Jerusalem is a holy city to Muslims, Jews and Christians, and denying, negating or erasing the traditions of these religions will compromise the unity of the city. The Temple Mount including the Mosques and the Western Wall are a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982, and have been recorded as being holy to three religions- Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Think, to say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount is like saying that China (supporter of the resolution) has no connection to the Great Wall of China, Russia (supporter of the resolution) has no connection to the Kremlin in Moscow, Egypt (supporter of the resolution) has no connection to the Pyramids or that India (abstained on the resolution) has no connection to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Imagine, with the infamous resolution, we will have a new Bible to be re-written and revised by UNESCO. With “UNESCO revised edition of the Bible”, which has the word ‘temple’ replaced with Al-Aqsa Mosque/Ai-Haram al-Sharif, the new reboot verses will look like this:

I king 6-1 “….. in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, he began to build the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Ai-Haram al-Sharif (in place of House of the Lord)”. Mathew 21:12 “And Jesus went into the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Ai-Haram al-Sharif( in place of temple of God), and cast out of them that sold and bought in the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Ai-Haram al-Sharif, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers….”

This is really dangerous. UNESCO is not just responsible for protecting this heritage site, but for ensuring the preservation of their historical integrity as well, lest humanity’s past become subjected to the current political and religious agenda of a few.

Unless UNESCO pulls up its socks, the price of failure could be more damaging to the cause of world heritage than all the wars of world. The UNs chief agent responsible for safeguarding and promoting the educational, scientific and cultural heritage of the world is crumbling under the weight of bureaucracy and political tools.

UNESCO by supporting the infamous resolution is simply embarrassing itself. We can understand criticism, but we cannot understand changing history.