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B’nai B’rith International is outraged over a resolution at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that would designate the Western Wall (known as Kotel in Hebrew), which is the sole still-standing remnant of the Temple in Jerusalem, as “integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin wrote a letter to UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova rebuking the malicious resolution and urged her to steer UNESCO’s Executive Board away from such a vile proposal.
 
The resolution was brought forth on behalf of the Palestinians by Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, and proposes, among other outrageous demands and condemnations, renaming the Kotel: Buraq Plaza. If passed it would be a systematic erasure and undisguised historical revision, robbing Jews of history and identity.
 
In what is clearly a play to further delegitimze Israel and encourage discontent among Palestinians, the resolution condemns Israeli security forces for the response to the relentless terror waged against Israeli citizens in recent weeks, in which Palestinians have used knives, meat cleavers and cars to murder Israelis. Further, the motion would curtail the Jewish state’s archeological excavations in Jerusalem’s Old City and makes the absurd allegation that the Israeli government limits Muslim worship and access to the holy site.
 
Jacobs and Mariaschin explain the Jewish people’s connection to Kotel in their letter to Bokova, writing: “Since the destruction of Second Temple over 2000 years ago, Jews have looked to the Kotel with hope for the rebirth of sovereignty in our ancient homeland. We have put notes in the crevices of the wall with prayers. The connection between the Jewish people and the Kotel is strong, and eternal.”
 
They also point the blatant hypocrisy that has been percolating within UNESCO, saying: “The creeping but undisguised historical revisionism and territorial, cultural and civilizational appropriation taking root at UNESCO … make clear which side in the conflict is truly inciting religious tensions and seeking to alter the status quo in Jerusalem.”
 
To read B’nai B’rith’s full letter to Bokova, click here.