World Heritage Committee Discounts Jewish Connection to Jerusalem

B’nai B’rith International again directs its incredulity at a U.N. body as it votes to erase Jewish ties to holy sites in Jerusalem, the center of Jews’ national and religious life throughout history.

During a secret ballot vote, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) voted, as had the UNESCO Executive Board last week, to whitewash the Jewish connection to the holiest site in Judaism: the Temple Mount.

Ten countries out of the committee’s 21 member states voted to adopt the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic resolution, while 40 percent of the committee members abstained from voting. B’nai B’rith thanks Croatia and Tanzania for insisting upon a vote, thereby blocking a Palestinian attempt to pass the appalling resolution by consensus, giving it the appearance of unanimous support.

“UNESCO is once again abandoning its own mission by denying fundamental truth and engaging in political warfare against the legitimacy of the only democratic nation in the Middle East. The Temple Mount has always been the holiest site for Jews, and this attack on the Jewish faith exemplifies the deep-seated anti-Semitic and anti-Israel bias that has been exported from the Middle East to the U.N.,” B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman said. 

The resolution, entitled “Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls,” only refers to the Temple Mount by Arabic names, “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” and describes it exclusively as a “Muslim holy site of worship.” Irrefutable historical evidence credits Jews with establishing Jerusalem as the capital of Jewish life long before Islam came into being. 

“UNESCO has allowed itself to promote vile historical revisionism and the abject denial of the Jewish people’s heritage, thus calling into question its own legitimacy,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said.

B’nai B’rith—which maintains longstanding accreditation at UNESCO and was present for the deliberations of the World Heritage Committee this week—has actively advocated over recent months and years as the body has been exploited to deny Jewish historical ties to holy sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere in Jews’ ancestral homeland.

Letters Follow Adoption of UNESCO Resolution Erasing Jewish Ties to Jerusalem

B’nai B’rith has sent letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova asking them to correct statements they issued Friday failing to recognize Jerusalem's Temple Mount as the holiest site in Judaism. While acknowledging the two leaders' implied criticism of a new UNESCO resolution, formally adopted Oct. 18, that effectively whitewashes the Jewish history of key holy places in Jerusalem B'nai B'rith said that their identification of the Western Wall as Jews' most sacred spot obscures the fact that the Wall's significance is derived solely from its connection to the Temple Mount.
 
As part of Palestinians' ongoing effort to deny the legitimacy of Jews' presence in the Holy Land, UNESCO's Executive Board passed a resolution that uses Arabic names, while omitting primary Judeo-Christian ones or placing them in quotation marks, for the Temple Mount and even the Western Wall, thus effectively reclassifying them as predominantly Islamic sites. A growing number of countries, though, have declined to vote in favor of such offensive, revisionist motions, and the two senior U.N. officials took the rare step of chiding the campaign that advocated them. Ban's spokesman said that any “undertaking to repudiate the undeniable common reverence for these sites does not serve the interests of peace and will only feed violence and radicalism.”
 
In their letter to the secretary-general, B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman, Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels write: “The extraordinary religious and historical importance of the Western Wall as a place of prayer for Jews is founded solely upon its status as the remnant of the ancient Temple Mount complex that is the very heart of Jewish civilization across time—the site toward which Jews around the world have prayed for thousands of years.”
 
B’nai B’rith noted: “Misrepresenting, however unintentionally, this critical truth, in an official statement on the very subject to which it relates, risks overshadowing the value of the statement itself and linking your name to the negation of the fundamental, age-old Jewish tenets that first bestowed upon Jerusalem and its Temple Mount their special place in the heritage of humanity. Accordingly, not least as UNESCO will continue to deliberate related matters over the coming days, we appeal to you to issue a clarifying correction of your original statement.” The letter pointed out that the latest move to deny Jews' fundamental history comes just as they celebrate Sukkot (Tabernacles), "one of the three major yearly festivals when the Jewish people would collectively ascend in pilgrimage to the Temple Mount." 
 
“Those more concerned with erasing the history of Jews than with building genuine coexistence,” the letter added, “have showed that they will sink deeper and deeper into overt anti-Semitism, importing this corrosive bigotry into major international organizations... Where once global outrage was forced to battle to revoke the lie propounded at the United Nations that Zionism is a form of racism, now people of decency may be obliged to struggle to rescind UNESCO declarations that deny the centrality of Jerusalem to Jews.”
 
“We hope you will ensure that you will be known for an unambiguous and impactful leadership role at this vital moment. To this end, we ask you to move quickly to correct what was identified in your name last week as the holiest place in Judaism,” the letter concluded.
 
Click here to read the full letter.
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B’nai B’rith Had Spoken Forcefully Against Shameful, Dangerous Resolution

B’nai B’rith International condemns the outrageous vote by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that erases the connection between Jews and their holiest site, the Temple Mount. Using Arabic names, while omitting others entirely or placing them in quotation marks, effectively reclassifies the Temple Mount and the Western Wall as primarily Islamic sites.

B’nai B’rith had sent letters to UNESCO executive board members imploring them to remember the irrefutable connection of Jews to these sites.

The UNESCO report was approved with 23 in favor, six against, 27 abstentions and two absent. 
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B’nai B’rith President Gary P. Saltzman had noted when the resolution was being discussed: “The U.N. and its agencies have been targeting Israel for years, but now the Palestinian Authority is again showing its true colors by pushing through a frontal attack on the history and very identity of Jews everywhere. The Temple Mount has always been the center of Jewish civilization, and the Western Wall, the remnant of Jews' eternal religious devotion. This outrageous resolution will not break that bond, but it does bring into further disrepute UNESCO and the United Nations.”

And Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin noted during the resolution’s preliminary phases: “This resolution aims to deny never-questioned historical truth in order to further a Palestinian political agenda. Those western democracies that abstained on this vote ought to know better, and should have taken an unambiguous stance in defense of history and of honesty.”

​B’nai B’rith International condemns the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) executive board’s Programme and External Relations Commission for passing an anti-Semitic resolution, entitled “Occupied Palestine,” that calls into question the connection between Jews and their holiest site, the Temple Mount. Using Arabic names, while omitting others entirely or placing them in quotation marks, effectively reclassifies the Temple Mount and the Western Wall as primarily Islamic sites.
 
“The U.N. and its agencies have been targeting Israel for years, but now the Palestinian Authority is again showing its true colors by pushing through a frontal attack on the history and very identity of Jews everywhere. The Temple Mount has always been the center of Jewish civilization, and the Western Wall, the remnant of Jews' eternal religious devotion. This outrageous resolution will not break that bond, but it does bring into further disrepute UNESCO and the United Nations,” B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman said.
 
We praise the United States, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, which voted against the resolution. Twenty-six countries abstained in the voting, including eight European countries. The resolution passed with 24 votes.
 
“This resolution aims to deny never-questioned historical truth in order to further a Palestinian political agenda. Those western democracies who abstained on this vote ought to know better, and should have taken an unambiguous stance in defense of history and of honesty,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said.
 

Sends Letter to Body’s Executive Board

B’nai B’rith International sent a letter to members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Executive Board expressing grave concern over the first of two expected resolutions this month, that again outrageously call into question Jewish ties to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and Western Wall. The board will vote on the first resolution at the end of this week, and UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is slated to consider a similar resolution toward the end of the month.
 
In their letter, B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman, Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels write: “…we are writing to express our dismay at a resolution presented by the Arab Group to the Programme and External Relations Commission of the current session of the Executive Board of UNESCO. The resolution, entitled, ‘Occupied Palestine,’ is the latest in a line of Palestinian UNESCO resolutions that seek, in an especially outrageous manner, to disconnect the Jewish people from their universally recognized history in Jerusalem. While this resolution now contains a token line affirming the importance of Jerusalem to ‘the three monotheistic religions,’ the rest of the text of the resolution is a rehashing of the same false claims and offensive language that have plagued previous UNESCO decisions on the subject.”
 
B’nai B’rith noted: “The Western Wall is a key component of the Temple complex that existed on the Temple Mount before the two ancient Jewish Temples were destroyed, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. The Temple Mount is and always has been the single holiest site in Judaism and the focal point of Jewish civilization, the spot toward which Jews everywhere have prayed for thousands of years.”
 
“We strongly appeal for you to join in moving the Executive Board in a new direction that restores UNESCO’s essential credibility by voting against this damaging resolution and by calling for an end to the fundamentally ahistorical and anti-Semitic denial of the very identity of the Jewish people,” the letter concluded. 
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B’nai B’rith has issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International decries the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that left two people—a 30-year-old police officer and a 60-year-old woman—dead. Six others were hurt in the Sunday rampage. The attack started at the Ammunition Hill station, a stop on Jerusalem’s light rail, and continued down the street when the Palestinian assailant fled by car. The terrorist was later killed by a police officer during a brief chase.
 
This is yet another reminder of the daily threats by terrorists under which Israelis live. The Palestinian leadership, instead of condemning this wanton violence, praises the perpetrator of these crimes as a “martyr.” Who can possibly expect a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue if, from the top, such “leadership” gives approbation to such violent acts?
 
We welcome the U.S. State Department’s statement denouncing the attack.
 
B’nai B’rith offers its condolences to the victims and their families. 

B’nai B’rith International sent a letter to António Guterres congratulating him on his nomination as the United Nations Secretary-General by the body’s Security Council.
 
From 2005 to 2015, Guterres was the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, and he was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. The General Assembly must now vote on his appointment, which would take effect at the start of 2017.
 
In their letter, B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman, Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels write: “Your selection by the members of the Council impressively reflects the trust invested in you by its diverse members as well as within the world body more generally...As you know well, the international community, and the United Nations itself, continues to face no shortage of grave challenges—whether humanitarian, socioeconomic, political, environmental or otherwise.”
 
B’nai B’rith noted that “the worldwide Jewish community ascribed great promise to the creation of the United Nations, coming as it did in the very aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Accordingly, we have labored continuously for the maximal effectiveness of the U.N. and for it to live up to its own essential founding values and aspirations. If guided by principles of genuine fairness and constructiveness—including with regard to the world’s only Jewish state, Israel, a U.N. member state since 1949—we believe that the U.N. can yet afford singular contributions to the pursuit of security, coexistence and peace.”
 
“The U.N. Secretary-General is uniquely positioned to model and promote such an approach,” the letter concluded.

​B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:
 
B’nai B’rith International is opening its Disaster Relief Fund to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Matthew living in the United States, Haiti and Cuba. Hurricane Matthew started as a tropical storm in the mid-Atlantic and quickly rose to hurricane status, travelling up the coast. 
 
The catastrophic hurricane has killed more than 270 people and destroyed thousands of homes, schools and businesses. The Category 3 storm will make landfall in the United States today. Matthew has already impacted millions of Floridians—Gov. Rick Scott ordered the evacuation of 1.5 million citizens and has declared a state of emergency, and over 400,000 people have already lost power. The Florida coastline is expected to face torrential rains and storm surges.
 
Areas of Haiti and Cuba have been all but destroyed. According to the United Nations, 300,000 Haitians have been displaced and are living in shelters. Communications in many areas is non-existent. NBC News stated that 35,000 residents in Cuba had to be evacuated from their coastal homes to higher ground.
 
We will continue to monitor the course of the hurricane and assess needs in other impacted areas.
 
B’nai B’rith has regularly provided disaster relief at the local, national and international levels since 1865. In September, B’nai B’rith sent disaster relief aid to Baton Rouge, La. for the victims of the disastrous floods that plagued the region in August. We opened our Disaster Relief Fund this past spring for the wildfire victims in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada and for the victims of the earthquakes that occurred in Ecuador and Japan. 
 
To help, donate online to our Hurricane Matthew Disaster Relief Fund at our secure website by clicking here.

You can also call 800-573-9057 to make a credit card contribution over the phone. Or, you can send a check payable to the B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Fund to:

​B’nai B’rith International
Disaster Relief Fund 
1120 20th Street NW, Suite 300N
Washington, DC 20036