MembersUNESCO’s Fiasco

The resolution refers to Palestine as if it were an actual, historical state. In this world of make-believe, Judaism’s holiest site no longer exists. In its place one finds the “Al-Aqṣa Mosque/Al-Ḥaram Al-Sharif and its surroundings.” The document “strongly condemns”, “firmly deplores”, “deeply decries”, and “deeply regrets” Israeli control over this most holy and ancient Palestinian shrine.

Even the Wailing Wall is labeled primarily as Al-Buraq Plaza. But given that few are familiar with this name, the resolution throws the tiniest of bones to the Jews by noting that the site is also referred to as the “Western Wall Plaza.” Using this name instead of the more common (at least in Jewish circles) Wailing Wall, and making sure to qualify it with quotation marks, signals that UNESCO does not truly recognize even this place as Jewish. Jerusalem, all of it, according to UNESCO, was always Muslim.

Commenting on the resolution, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page that...