PM Netanyahu statement following today’s UNESCO decision 10.13.16
Israeli Missions Around The World MFA Press Room 2016 PM Netanyahu statement following today’s UNESCO decision 10.13.16
  • 2016

PM Netanyahu statement following today’s UNESCO decision

  •   Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Office
  • 10/13/2016
    •    
    To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China. With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost the modicum of legitimacy it had left.
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    Votes of the UNESCO member states on resolution denying Judeo-Chrisitian history in Jerusalem Votes of the UNESCO member states on resolution denying Judeo-Chrisitian history in Jerusalem
     
     
    Following the preliminary adoption by the Executive Board of UNESCO of the resolution which ignores the ties of the Jewish people to its most holy sites - the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem - Prime Minister Netanyahu made the following statement at the beginning of the Bible study group at Prime Minister's residence:​​

    "The UNESCO theater of the absurd continues. 
    Today that organization adopted another delusional decision that states that the Jewish People have no connection to the Temple Mount or the Western Wall. 
    Even if they do not read the Bible, I would suggest that UNESCO members visit the Arch of Titus in Rome. The Arch shows what the Romans brought back to Rome after they destroyed and looted the Second Temple on the Temple Mount 2,000 years ago. There, engraved on the Arch of Titus, is the seven-branched menorah that is the symbol of the Jewish People, and today is the symbol of the State of Israel. 
    Soon, UNESCO will decide that Emperor Titus engaged in Zionist propaganda. 
    To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the pyramids. With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost the modicum of legitimacy it had left. 
    But I believe that historical truth is stronger and that truth will prevail. And today we are dealing with the truth." 
    ​*** 
    (Communicated by the Media Advisor to Deputy Minister Hotovely) 

    Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Hotovely responded regarding today's (13 October) decision of UNESCO's Executive Board: 
    "The Executive Board of UNESCO has disgraced its international mandate in this politicized and distorted resolution. The fact that more states abstained than supported the resolution underscores the deep reservations of many states with regard to this shameful resolution. The countries that supported this resolution have lent their voice to the lie propagated by the Palestinians that the Temple Mount is an exclusively Islamic site. This falsification of history is an affront to the ancient Jewish and Christian connections to Jerusalem."