Tag Archive for UNESCO

| July 11, 2016
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Planned UNESCO vote to repudiate Jewish connection with Western Wall

 

A joint Jordanian-Palestinian draft accusing Israel of misconduct on the Temple Mount including deliberate vandalism, will also deny Jewish affinity to the mount and the Western Wall, will be voted on during the annual UNESCO meeting.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The subject of the Jewish connection with the Temple Mount has once again been returned to the UN as Palestinians and Jordanians seek to repudiate Jewish affinity with any part of the compound.

Photo: AP

The draft decision presented by the Palestinians and Jordanians includes a number of problematic points in relation to Israel. Firstly, the draft calls on Israel to return the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa mosque to “the historic status quo,” a new phrase implying that the sites should be returned to their pre-1967 status.The Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| June 14, 2016
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Brazil: UNESCO vote denying Jewish link to Kotel was Arabs spreading Hatred

 

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Jose Serra says his gov’t will change its vote on the UNESCO resolution, which declared Jewish sites ‘Muslim’ as “a pretext of the Arab world to spread hatred against Israel.”

By JTA

 

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Jose Serra intends to change Brazil’s anti-Israel vote given in April at a United Nations session, where rights for cultural assets in the areas conquered in the Six-Day War were discussed,  Brazilian media reported.

Jewish Worshiper at the Kotel (Western Wall) – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Serra was tapped by new acting president Michel Temer.

The text of the resolution passed at the 199th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, does not recognize a Jewish connection to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount and calls Israel an “occupying power.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 12, 2016
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French PM condemns UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem as ‘unfortunate, clumsy’

 

PM Manuel Valls contradicts UNESCO’s resolution saying, “I want to repeat once again and clearly, with conviction – France will never deny the Jewish presence & Jewish history in Jerusalem. It would make no sense, it is absurd to deny this history.”

By AFP

 

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday described a UNESCO resolution on the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem as “clumsy” and “unfortunate” and said it should have been avoided.

Jewish men & women pray at the Kotel (Western Wall) – circa 1900

The Paris-based UN cultural body adopted the resolution on “Occupied Palestine” presented by several Arab countries in mid-April.  Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| April 17, 2016
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Lapid: UNESCO Temple Mount decision to erase Jewish connection will cause bloodshed

 

Israel’s former Finance Minister Yair Lapid wrote to UNESCO chairman Irina Bokova that the decision to ignore the Jewish people’s historic connection to the Western Wall & Temple Mount will lead to much more bloodshed.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Yesh Atid chairman and former Finance Minister Yair Lapid wrote a scathing letter to UNESCO over the weekend, stating to chairman Irina Bokova that a decision to divorce the Jewish people from the Western Wall and Temple Mount will lead to bloodshed.

Jews gather to pray at the Western Wall during Succot. – Photo by AFP

“This decision is a shameful attempt to rewrite history, rewrite reality as part of the ongoing political campaign against Israel and the Jewish people,” Lapid stated in the letter.  Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| March 11, 2016
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Peres Center for Peace & UNESCO join forces

 

UNESCO seeks to establish strategic cooperation with the Peres Center in order to put the center’s educational methods into practice by championing peace & interfaith dialogue all over the world.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The UN agency for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) has decided to sign a partnership agreement with the Peres Center for Peace. Under this partnership, UNESCO is to promote several Peres Center projects in the fields of education and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israeli envoy to UNESCO Carmel Shama HaCohen

Peres was invited to tour UNESCO headquarters in Paris this coming month, where he also plans to sign the agreement with the organization’s leaders. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| October 21, 2015
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UNESCO condemns Israeli ‘aggression’ once again, but rejects Islamizing Western Wall

 

Deleting the text calling on Judaism’s Kotel (Western Wall) as “an integral part of al-Aksa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif” because of pressure from Russia, US and the NGO’s Director-General Irina Bokova, UNESCO went on to condemn Israel for ‘aggressive actions’ on the Temple Mount.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

UNESCO’s executive board on Wednesday solely condemned Israeli aggression on the Temple Mount but swayed away from reclassifying the Western Wall as a Muslim holy site.

UNESCO with PA handshakeThe vote in Paris was 26 in favor, six against and 15 abstentions. The US, Germany, United Kingdom, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Czech Republic voted against the resolution while a number of other European countries such as Albania, Austria, France, Spain, and Italy were among those that abstained. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| October 21, 2015
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UNESCO Chief Slams Palestinian Attempt to Hijack Jewish Holy Site as Muslim

 

UNESCO Director-General issues formal statement ‘deploring’ Palestinian initiative proposed by Arab states, to claim Judaism’s Kotel as part of Al-Aqsa compound saying it “undermines UNESCO’s mandate and efforts.”

By Ari Soffer

 

 

In what could be a crucial development, the head of UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has issued a statement roundly condemning the Palestinian Authority bid to claim the Kotel (Western Wall) as a Muslim site.

Jews worship at the Kotel (Western Wall) – Reuters

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova urged Organization members to reject the proposal, which she said threatened to “incite tensions.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| October 17, 2015
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Palestinians Claim Ownership of Judaism’s ‘Western Wall’ at UNESCO

 

The proposal, likely to pass due to Muslim majority in the UNESCO Executive Council, will have Judaism’s Kotel (a.k.a. Western Wall or Wailing Wall in English) renamed Buraq Plaza, and incorporated as part of Islam’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

By Ari Yashar

 

In an attempt to gain international legitimacy for its rewriting of history, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will submit a resolution to UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) next week claiming the Kotel (Western Wall) as its own.

The proposal calls to have the Kotel in Jerusalem – which is an outer wall of the Temple Mount that is the holiest site in Judaism – recognized as part of Al-Aqsa Mosque located on the Mount, reports Yedioth Aharonoth on Friday. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| July 7, 2015
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Israel outs UNESCO for ignoring Jewish & Christian historical bond to Jerusalem

Israel’s Foreign Ministry director denounces UN body saying, typically, “The resolution is full of distortions & is totally disconnected from reality on the ground.”

By HERB KEINON

 

Israel slammed the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday for adopting a “completely one sided resolution” on the Old City of Jerusalem that “deliberately ignores the historical connection between the Jewish people and their ancient capital.”

temple mount jerusalem

The Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem – Photo: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST

The resolution, adopted by the World Heritage Committee meeting in Bonn, takes Israel to task for – among other grievances – the following allegations: engaging in “illegal excavations” in the Old City; causing damage to structures on the Temple Mount; impeding restoration work on the Temple Mount; and damaging the “visual integrity” of the Old City with the Jerusalem light rail.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| June 15, 2015
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Facebook closes ISIS page used to sell plundered ancient artifacts

Facebook removes Islamic State pages featuring artifacts plundered from Syrian archaeological sites, including scrolls written in Hebrew & Aramaic, and clay tablets.

By Eli Leon & news agencies

 

Facebook has taken down pages that may have been selling archaeological finds looted by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Ancient Hebrew manuscript that Islamic State terrorists tried to sell on Facebook. – Photo: From Facebook

The militant group has reportedly been using the social media network to sell off the invaluable artifacts believed to have been plundered by Islamic State militants from Syrian archaeological sites.

After receiving reports about the illegal sales efforts, Facebook removed the pages featuring the stolen items, which included scrolls written in both Hebrew and Aramaic, clay tablets, and ancient coins and golden statues. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , ,
| May 19, 2015
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Germany pledges €2.5 million for preservation of Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus-style architecture

First a new center will be opened to supervise the restoration & preservation of roughly 2,000 buildings, comprising of the world’s largest collection of Bauhaus architecture.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Germany will donate 2.5 million euros over ten years for the preservation of Tel Aviv’s “White City”, German Construction Minister Barbara Hendricks told Mayor Ron Huldai on Thursday, with an initial grant of NIS 250,000.

Restored Bauhaus-style building in Tel Aviv (Photo: Zvika Tishler)Restored Bauhaus-style building in Tel Aviv – Photo: Zvika Tishler

The project coincides with the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli diplomatic relations.

The White City, which was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2003, is the largest collection in the world of buildings in the modernist Bauhaus style. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| August 15, 2014
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PA to UNESCO: Israel’s Targeting Gaza Mosques for Destruction is a War Crime

Although the IDF did not comment on the matter, it’s no secrete Israel has in the past mentioned how Hamas has stored weapons in the mosques.

 

The destruction of 41 mosques over the last five weeks during Israel’s military operation in Gaza is a war crime, the Palestinian Authority Tourism and Antiquities Ministry charged on Thursday.

A PALESTINIAN man walks past the remains of a Khan Yunis mosque.

A PALESTINIAN man walks past the remains of a Khan Yunis mosque in the southern Gaza Strip early this week, which witnesses said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike. – Photo: REUTERS

It added that another 120 mosques and shrines were partially destroyed. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 11, 2014
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Postponed ‘Jews in Israel’ exhibit to finally open at UNESCO

The Jewish people’s narrative finally to be displayed: A 3.5 millennia relationship to the Holy Land, and that’s the narrative that the Arab League didn’t want the world to know about.

By JTA

 

An exhibition on the Jewish presence in the land of Israel that had been canceled due to pressure from Arab states will open at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The exhibit at UNESCO headquarters in Paris just needed to be installed – Jan.2014

“Book, People, Land — The 3,500-Year Relationship of the Jewish People With the Holy Land,” a joint exhibition of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the cultural arm of the United Nations, will open Wednesday.

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| January 22, 2014
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UNESCO moves Land of Israel exhibit to June

 

The exhibit, “People, Book, Land: The 3,500-year relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land,”  was postponed in response to a protest letter from the Arab League, who fear it ‘could damage the peace process’.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

 

 

UNESCO now eyes a June date for an exhibit on Jewish ties to the Land of Israel, after it suddenly canceled the scheduled Monday opening at its Paris headquarters, in response to a protest by Arab states who fear it could damage the peace process.

The exhibit at UNESCO headquarters in Paris just needed to be installed.

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to open the exhibit as planned on January 20, or to schedule a new opening. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| January 19, 2014
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Canada & U.S. urge UNESCO not to postpone ‘Land of Israel’ exhibit

UNESCO postponed Jewish exhibit in response to pressure by Arab League.

Simon Wiesenthal Center plans to display panels if UN fails to open exhibit.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
 

 

The United States and Canada called on UNESCO to rescind its sudden decision to suspend an exhibit on Jewish ties to the Land of Israel – due to open at its Paris headquarters on Monday – in response to a protest by Arab states who fear it could damage the peace process.

UNESCO headquarters

UNESCO headquarters – Photo by Unesco.org

“UNESCO’s decision is wrong and should be reversed,” said US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power on Friday. Continue Reading »

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