The War on UNESCO: Al-Aqsa Mosque is Palestinian and East Jerusalem is Illegally Occupied
31 October 2016
By Ramzy Baroud
Did Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, actually read the full text of the
UNESCO resolution on Palestine and Israel, before he raved with anger?
''I think this is a mistaken, inconceivable resolution,'' he said.
''It is not possible to continue with these resolutions at the UN and UNESCO
that aim to attack Israel. It is shocking and I have ordered that we stop
taking this position (his country's abstention) even if it means diverging
from the position taken by the rest of Europe,'' he added.
Renzi, who became Prime Minister in 2014 at the relatively young age of 39
knows exactly how the game is played. In order to win favor with Washington,
he must first please Tel Aviv.
His country has abstained from the October 12 vote on a resolution that
condemns Israel's violations of the cultural and legal status of Occupied East
Jerusalem. This decision has ignited the ire of Israeli Ambassador to Rome,
Ofer Zaks, who riled up the Jewish community in Italy to protest the
abstention. Renzi, in turn, was converted into a champion of the 'Temple
Mount', the name Israel uses to describe the Palestinian Muslim holy site.
Renzi cravenly went on damage control mode without truly understanding the
nature of the resolution, which merely condemned Israel's obvious violations
of international law, and only calls for Israel to respect the status of
Palestinian culture in the occupied city.
None of procedures that led to the vote on the UNESCO's resolution voted by
24-6, with 26 abstentions violated protocol, nor was any of the wording
inconsistent with international law. In fact, UNESCO was merely doing its job:
attempting to protect and preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the
world.
Jerusalem is a sacred and a holy city to a majority of humanity, simply
because it is significant to the spiritual wellbeing of the adherents of the
three monotheistic religions. In fact, the resolution stated so:
''Affirming the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the
three monotheistic religions
''
Renzi's outburst is quite disappointing, to say the least, for the young,
eager politician simply tried to score cheap political points with Israel
thus the United States without a full, or even partial comprehension of what
the UNESCO resolution resolved. Nor did he seem aware of the fact that such
text is largely a repeat of what has been discussed by the world's leading
cultural organization in April, and repeatedly before that date.
''If anyone wants to say something about Israel, let them say it, but they
should not use UNESCO
To say that the Jews have no links to Jerusalem is like
saying the sun creates darkness,'' he said, paraphrasing the sentiment
displayed by the Israeli Prime Minister.
It would be rather sad if Renzi sees a mentor in Benjamin Netanyahu, for the
latter is one of the least liked world leaders who has made a mockery of
international forums and derided the United Nations itself as anti-Semitic and
its process as 'theater of the absurd'.
This is what Netanyahu had said in response to the resolution and shortly
before he suspended his country's membership in UNESCO. Using a language that
is as amusing as his cartoon depiction of the Iranian nuclear bomb in his
famous UN spectacle in 2012, he said:
''To say that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western
Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or
that Egypt has no connection to the Pyramids.''
Other Israeli officials followed suit with a chorus of denunciations, included
Israeli President, Reuven Rivilin, who described the decision as an
''embarrassment'' for UNESCO. Culture Minister, Miri Regev, cut to the chase,
by labeling the resolution ''shameful and anti-Semitic.''
In fact, it was neither.
In addition to Renzi's odd reaction, the United States and other western
governments reacted with exaggerated anger, again without even addressing the
situation on the ground, which prompted the resolution and numerous other UN
resolutions in the past in the first place.
Even the Czech parliament jumped on board, voting to condemn what they
described as a ''hateful, anti-Israel' sentiment.''
I have read the resolution repeatedly to pinpoint the specific text that could
possibly be understood by Israel's friends as hateful, to no avail. The
entirety of the text was based on past international conventions, resolutions,
international law, and refers to Israel as the Occupying Power, as per the
diktat of the Geneva Conventions.
The Italian, Czech, American anger is, of course, misdirected and is largely
political theater.
But, of course, there is an important context that they refuse to address.
Israel is working diligently to appropriate Muslim and Christian heritage in
East Jerusalem, a city that is designated by international law as illegally
occupied.
The Israeli army and police have restricted the movement of Palestinian
worshipers and is excavating under the foundation of the third holiest Muslim
shrine, Haram al-Sharif, in search of a mythological Temple.
In the process of doing so, numerous Palestinians, trying to defend their
Mosque from the attacks staged by Israeli occupation forces and extremist
Jewish groups, have been killed.
How is UNESCO to react to this?
The resolution merely, 'called on Israel' to ''allow for the restoration of
the historic status quo that prevailed until September 2000, under which the
Jordanian Awqaf (Religious Foundation) Department exercised exclusive
authority on Al-Aq?a Mosque/Al-?aram Al-Sharif.''
Moreover, it 'stressed', the ''urgent need of the implementation of the UNESCO
reactive monitoring mission to the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls.''
Where is the 'hate' and 'Anti-Semitism' in that?
Israel's anger is, of course, fathomable. For nearly fifty years, following
the illegal occupation and annexation of the Palestinian Arab city, Israel has
done everything it could possibly do to strip the city of its universal appeal
and Arab heritage, and make it exclusive to Jews only thus the slogan of
Jerusalem being Israel's 'eternal and undivided capital.'
Israel is angry because, after five decades of ceaseless efforts, neither
UNESCO nor other UN institutions will accept Israel's practices and
designations. In 2011, following the admission of 'Palestine' as a member
state, Israel ranted and raved as well, resulting in the US cutting off
funding to UNESCO.
The latest resolution indicates that Israel and the US have utterly failed to
coerce UNESCO.
What also caused much fury in Tel Aviv is that UNESCO used the Arabic
references to Haram al-Sharif, Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Muslim religious and
heritage sites. The same way they would refer to Egypt's Pyramids of Giza and
China's Great Wall by their actual names. Hardly anti-Semitic.
Since its establishment atop Palestinian towns and village, Israel has been on
a mission to rename everything Arabic with Hebrew alternatives. Recent years
have seen a massive push towards the Judaization of Arab Christian and Muslim
sites, streets and holy shrines, a campaign spear-headed by the Israeli right
and ultranationalist groups.
To expect UNESCO to employ such language is what should strike as 'absurd'.
Not only should the UNESCO resolution be respected, it should also be followed
by practical mechanisms to implement its recommendations. Israel, an Occupying
Power should not be given a free pass to besiege the holy shrines of two major
world religions, restrict the movement and attack worshipers, annex occupied
territories and destroy what is essential spiritual heritage that belongs to
the whole world.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20
years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an
author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His books
include ''Searching Jenin'', ''The Second Palestinian Intifada'' and his
latest ''My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story''. His website
is www.ramzybaroud.net.
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