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6 HASHALOM November
2016
November 2016
HASHALOM
7
ISRAEL
ISRAEL
UNESCO Director-General criticizes ‘harmful’
drive to erase Jewish ties to Temple Mount
Former Archbishop of Canterbury
among critics of church’s Israel
‘checkpoint’
UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova spoke out Friday in
support of Israel and against the 24-6 vote that her organisation’s
Executive Board took the day before to approve a resolution that
spoke of the Temple Mount and its Western Wall as a purely
Muslim religious site.
“Jerusalem is the sacred city of the three monotheistic religions
- Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”
“To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim
traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter
to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World
Heritage list [in 1981],” she stated on Friday.
Bokovo has been outspoken on this issue since the Palestinians
began their drive in 2015 to change the language by which
UNESCO references that holy site.
Previously, all resolutions on Jerusalem had spoken of the area
with references to the Jewish term the Temple Mount and the
Muslim name of Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary).
For the last year, the Palestinians have submitted resolutions
that almost solely use the Muslim term of Al-Haram Al-Sharif
and reference the Western Wall by its Muslim name of the Buraq
Plaza.
On Thursday, UNESCO’s 58-member Program and External
Relations Commission approved such a resolution which is
expected to be ratified next Monday or Tuesday by the UNESCO
Executive Board, which is made up of the same member states.
Jerusalem, Bokova said, is a “microcosm of humanity’s spiritual
diversity” and is a place where “different peoples worship the
same places, sometimes under different names.
“The recognition, use of and respect for these names is
paramount. The Al Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram al-Sharif, the
sacred shrine of Muslims, is also the Har HaBayit – or Temple
Mount – whose Western Wall is the holiest place in Judaism,
a few steps away from the Saint Sepulcher and the Mount of
Olives revered by Christians,” Bokova said.
The international community has a responsibility to strengthen
religious co-existence in the city, Bokova said.
“UNESCO’s responsibility is to foster this spirit of tolerance and
respect for history, and this is my absolute daily determination
as Director-General, with all Member States,” she said.
Bokova’s opinion carries weight, but ultimately she has no
power with regard to this issue, because the votes are taken by
the member states.
Earlier in the day Israel’s Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel
Shama-Hacohen appealed to Bokova to condemn the vote.
“Unfortunately there are too many signs that we are on a slippery
slope and worst is yet to come,” he told her.
“I’m not sure that Israel should ignore yesterday’s events and I
intend to recommend to the Government that it take operational
measures,” he said.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett who heads Israel’s National
Commission to UNESCO said that Bokova’s statement was not
enough.
Bennett who earlier had charged that votes such as the one
taken Thursday, encourage Palestinian terrorism against Israel.
That support will stop, he said, “only once the organisation
rescinds its decision to deny [Jewish] history just to please
Israel’s enemies.”
Bennett has announced that Israel’s National Commission plans
to suspend its cooperation with UNESCO.
The Foreign Ministry, said that this decision, does not apply to
its office or to its mission to UNESCO in Paris, which maintains
diplomatic ties with the organization.
A Methodist church in London has agreed to display Israel’s
justification for security checks in the West Bank alongside its
replica checkpoint, after criticism from the former Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Hinde Street Methodist Church in Marylebone launched the
exhibition to showPalestinians’ limited access between Jerusalem
and Bethlehem, but was accused of “fanning the flames of anti-
Semitism” by a rabbi, and of harming Christian-Jewish relations
by the Board of Deputies.
Opened as part of World Week for Peace, the church said its
display – called ‘You cannot pass today’ – was “carefully curated
to reflect the issues of divided communities and to promote
reflection and prayers for piece,” adding: “There is no criticism of
the Jewish community or faith.”
But howls of protest led to a change of tune, with the church
agreeing to show a table of information, prepared by the Zionist
Federation, outlining Israel’s security needs, alongside a statement
from the Israeli government.
On Tuesday, Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of
Canterbury, said he was saddened by the portrayal of “Israel as
oppressors of victims”.
He said: “Jewish people across Europe are increasingly being
targeted and killed by terrorists, who often attempt to justify their
actions by demonising Israel. It is therefore particularly sad to see
a church in London demonising and singling out Israel’s defensive
actions against terrorism.”
He added: “Checkpoints in Israel are sadly needed in order to
save lives. The methods used by democracies to defend their
civilians should not be undermined by religious leaders in places
of worship and brotherhood.”
Jewish representatives from the Board and the ZF said they were
in discussions with the church about hosting a two-sided panel
debate on the Middle East, following an earlier breakdown in
communication.
The church this week expressed regret that a letter about the
exhibition sent to a local rabbi did not get through. A joint
statement from the Board and the ZF said: “In future we would
hope to see more rigorous consultation around such sensitive
events, for the sake of good interfaith relations.”
They added: “The Jewish community is now seeking volunteers,
as well as those who have already signed up over the weekend, to
hand out leaflets outside the church explaining the reasons why
Israel feels the need for such security measures.”
Rabbi Barry Marcus of the Central Synagogue, which is nearby,
had earlier said the church “should be ashamed,” telling The
Times that it would “demonise” Israel. “Why the hell is a church
wasting resources fanning the flames of anti-Semitism?”
The exhibition was created by lay preacher Katherine Fox, who
said it was based on her first-hand experience of the checkpoint
between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Board of Deputies Vice President Marie van der Zyl expressed
disappointment at the “one-sided,” exhibition, arguing that it
“puts unwelcome and unnecessary strain on Christian-Jewish
relations… Israel’s security infrastructure comes in response to
continued terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians”.
This is not the first time a church in London has sought to highlight
Israel’s controversial security measures and the effects they have
on Palestinians. Over Christmas in 2014, St James’ Church in
Piccadilly erected a 24ft replica of the security barrier/wall in its
‘Bethlehem Unwrapped’ festival.
St. James’ was also accused of feeding anti-Semitism, but stood
by its decision, saying: “In liberal democracies and free societies
it must be possible to raise and debate these issues… without
demonising anyone or being demonised ourselves.”
By Tovah Lazaroff - Jerusalem Post
By Stephen Oryszczuk – Jewish News - UK
Lord George Carey criticised the stunt as ‘demonising and singling out Israel’ in its fight against terrorism
www.djc.co.za
Troy Schonken
“To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions
undermines the integrity of the site,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova stated.
(Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu responds to UNESCO vote on Temple Mount, Western Wall)