The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Executive Committee passed a resolution on Wednesday that labeled two Jewish holy sites – the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb – as part of “Occupied Palestine.”
Section 3 of the resolution, Decision 28, first refers to the aforementioned holy sites as “Palestinian sites”; listed below it is a statement that says that the sites “are an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Another UNESCO resolution was passed that accused Israel for censoring and destroying Palestinian schools.
The resolutions were voted on and approved of as a non-binding annex, but Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon lambasted the resolutions.
“This is further evidence, for anyone who did not understand why the United States and Israel withdrew from UNESCO, that again proves that UNESCO is a body based on lies and biases, and is deliberately acting against,” Danon said in a statement. “The State of Israel will not be a member of an organization that is trying to rewrite history and willing to be manipulated by our enemies.”
On Sept. 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined UNESCO’s invitation for Israel to partake in an event on anti-Semitism, calling out UNESCO’s “persistent and egregious bias against Israel.” Israel and the United States both left UNESCO in 2017.
The Tomb of the Patriarchs, which is located in Hebron, are where the patriarchs and matriarchs of Judaism –– Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah – are buried. Rachel’s Tomb, located in Bethlehem, is where Rachel, another matriarch is buried, since she died there during childbirth.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.