The UN Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has expressed regret over Israel’s decision
to withdraw from the agency following a resolution on Jerusalem voted against
the country.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey
Azoulay, said she was convinced that it “is inside UNESCO and not outside it”
that States could best seek to overcome differences in the fields of
competence.
Azoulay noted that she had
received official notice from the Government of Israel on the country’s
withdrawal from the agency effective from Dec. 31, 2018, a decision which was
announced on Oct. 12, 2017.
“A Member of UNESCO since 1949,
Israel has a rightful place inside the United Nations agency that is dedicated
to education, culture and science,” she said.
Azoulay added that Israel has a
rightful place inside an institution committed to the defence of freedom of
expression, the prevention of all forms of anti-semitism and racism.
According to her, UNESCO has
developed a unique programme of education about the Holocaust and the
prevention of genocide.
“Israel also has a rightful place
inside an institution that is among the most active in promoting dialogue among
cultures, fighting violent extremism and conserving heritage affected, notably,
by the destructive acts of terrorist organisations.
“In the face of disagreements
among Member States, which lead to votes for which they are responsible,
engaging fully in the work of UNESCO makes possible sustained dialogue,
cooperation and partnerships that are more necessary than ever.
“And that I committed to support
when I took office,” Azoulay stressed.
Israel had on July 4 reacted
angrily and rejected a UNESCO World Heritage Council resolution denouncing
Israeli activity in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The resolution slammed “the
failure of the Israeli occupying authorities to cease the persistent
excavations, tunneling, works, projects and other illegal practices in East
Jerusalem, particularly in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, which are
illegal under international law.”
The Foreign Ministry said the
decision cannot change the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish
people.
“Another bizarre and irrelevant
decision by UNESCO, that is acting on behalf of the enemies of history and the
truth,” the ministry said in statement.
“Jerusalem is the eternal capital
of the Jewish people, and no decision by UNESCO can change that reality.
“It is sad, unnecessary and
pathetic. It is worth noting that the decision didn’t even get a majority of
votes.”
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev
Elkin lambasted UNESCO as “detached from reality” and said Israel would not
halt excavations or other activity in the Old City.
“This body continues to
demonstrate its partisanship and its denial of the history of the Jewish
people,” saidd Elkin who is also Environmental Protection minister.
Education Ministry Naftali Bennett,
who heads an Israeli committee dealing with UNESCO, said the UN body was
failing in its duties to protect world heritage sites by focusing instead on
Israel.
“UNESCO’s repeated fake claims do
not change the Jewish connection to Jerusalem or reality on the ground,” said
Bennett, who heads the Jewish Home party in the coalition.
“Jerusalem was the capital of the
Jewish people long before Islam was introduced to the world, and it will remain
Israel’s capital forever.”
“Instead of protecting hundreds
of sites destroyed by radical Islam, including the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul,
UNESCO is acting against the only Middle Eastern country safeguarding all holy
sites and granting worshipers religious freedom,” he said.
Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon
also condemned the vote outcome as “disgraceful.”
“Nothing is more disgraceful than
UNESCO declaring the world’s only Jewish state the ‘occupier’ of the Western
Wall and Jerusalem’s Old City,” Danon said in a statement.
“I toured the City of David and
the Old City with UN ambassadors from around the world and explained the deep
and ancient connection between the Jewish people and the holiest sites of our
nation.
“No faux ‘heritage committee’ can
sever the bonds between our people and Jerusalem.”
Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement welcomed the vote.
Times of Israel quoted Fatah
spokesman in Europe Jamal Nazzal, as saying it was “historic justice” and was
“another reflection of the international position which opposes Israeli policy,
and of our position which rejects recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the
occupation.”
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