The Israeli foreign ministry reacted with outrage Sunday to the news of the adoption of a Jordanian-sponsored resolution on Jerusalem at a meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Cambodia, as it concluded the critical vote constituted “a dark day” for the UN’s Education, Science and Culture Organisation.
The resolution, drafted by Jordan at the apparent instigation of fellow UNESCO members Palestine, condemned a series of Israeli developments in the Jewish capital, including the recent addition of a tramway, as well as building an elevator by the Western Wall, on the grounds of damaging the “integrity and authenticity” of the ancient city. Despite receiving 10 abstentions from the 21 member committee, as abstentions are not factored into the overall vote count, the resolution was passed by eight votes to three, with objections coming from close Israeli allies Germany, as well as Switzerland and Estonia. Arab States, such as Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are thought to have supported the resolution.
A statement by the Israeli foreign ministry insisted the contentious vote was the realisation of its previous cautions against “the Palestinians exploiting their admission to UNESCO as a member state in order to hijack the agenda and drag this important UN agency into the abyss of politicised manipulation”. Palestine was admitted to the body as a member state at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris in October 2011, with 107 out of 195 members states voted in favour of its membership, after a failed Palestinian Authority bid for outright UN membership – viewed by Israel as the first step on the ladder to a unilateral declaration of statehood.
Pointing out the lack of affirmative support the resolution received from committee members, Israel added the conclusion “against the better judgement of the majority, is nothing but a heap of statements disconnected from reality”.
“The text only reflects the clichés of the anti-Israel bubble which the Palestinians cultivate within UNESCO at the expense of worthy causes the organisation is supposed to promote around the world,” concluded the official comment.
Following the vote, Israel’s delegate criticised the conclusion as “a fabricated political decision against Israel, which portrays nothing but the outstanding creative writing skills and unique sense of imagination of both the Palestinians and Jordanians, bears devastating ramifications on the future of UNESCO”. “It is rather unfortunate that at such a critical point in time for UNESCO, the Palestinians and their active partners consciously choose to undermine the core values and identity of this organisation to an extent that will certainly lead to its ultimate destruction,” he added.
The resolution was similarly slammed by global Jewish groups, with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, itself accredited to the committee, describing the charges included within the text as “spurious”. Arguing that it was a direct response to Israel’s postponement of N American-Russian sponsored UNESCO monitoring mission to Jerusalem this May, after PA President Mahmoud Abbas “misrepresented” two political advisors submitted to accompany the mission, the organisation’s Director for International Relations and Chief Delegate to the conference Shimon Samuels contended the vote constituted a “Palestinian hijacking” of the Cambodia-hosted conference.
The centre further “deplored the abuse of an organisation that was founded to provide protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage sites for another round of Israel bashing”.
Meanwhile, B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs insisted the resolution was “just the latest example of the Palestinians exploiting their unilaterally-pursued elevated status within such bodies as UNESCO to push an anti-Israel agenda and to divert the UN from upholding its mission”.
This was not the first instance of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority (PA) lobbying UNESCO to voice harsh criticism of the Jewish State, after Russia apparently intervened to save Israel from condemnation at a meeting of its General Executive last October. After the PA called for condemnation of Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, whilst Jordan protested against archaeological digs destroying the character of the Old City of Jerusalem, Russia’s envoy to UNESCO successfully argued for an independent UN fact-finding mission to be despatched to Jerusalem to verify the facts. The delay of this mission, in response to apparently underhand tactics by Abbas, prompted the latest contentious action.
The PA also successfully appealed for world heritage status to be granted to the Church of Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem last July, which, Israel argued, was a politically-motivated appeal designed at aiding its intended appeal for unilateral statehood at the UN.