A top senator is condemning the United Nations’ cultural organ for approving a draft resolution Thursday that effectively denies Jewish and Christian connections to holy sites in Jerusalem, after more than two-dozen countries, including U.S. allies, abstained from voting on the measure.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) draft resolution, titled “Occupied Palestine,” describes the Temple Mount and Western Wall as Muslim holy sites with Muslim names, while rebuking Israel for its “aggressions” and “provocative abuses” related to the sites.
“Our allies should be on notice that abstaining is simply not enough anymore,” Texas senator Ted Cruz told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Thursday. “Given aggressive Palestinian action in UNESCO we need them to actively vote against these resolutions, so we can defeat them.”
The Palestinian-backed resolution passed in a 24 to 6 vote, with the United States, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Germany voting against. 26 countries abstained from voting, including Spain, France, and Sweden.
“It is unfortunate that the U.S. Mission to UNESCO could not do more to persuade our allies to oppose this disgraceful resolution, the real purpose of which is to undermine Jerusalem’s identity as the capital of the Jewish State,” Cruz said in a statementThursday.
The Texas senator also urged Congress to “redouble its efforts” against “these pernicious attempts to falsely attack and delegitimize our close ally through international institutions.”
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of 39 lawmakers, led by Cruz and Florida congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtine, sent a letter to UNESCO member states urging opposition to the measure.
“This unnecessarily divisive and selective resolution undermines the very purpose and integrity of UNESCO by seeking to rewrite Jerusalem’s history, rejects Jerusalem’s multi-cultural heritage, and undercuts Jerusalem’s extraordinary diversity,” the letter said.
Jewish groups also decried the UNESCO vote Thursday. David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), condemned the measure as “blatant historical revisionism.”
“This is another attempt to undermine the very foundation of the State of Israel and the documented, age-old historical Jewish connection to the land,” Harris said in a statement. “And unlike previous such resolutions, notably, not one European nation lent its support this time.”
The State Department said Thursday it would continue to vote down such resolutions in the future.
“We have opposed and will continue to oppose, and use our vote as part of that executive board to oppose these resolutions,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
UNESCO’s executive board is likely to approve the measure in a more final vote next week, according to a source that spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
The body approved a similar decision last April, with 33 countries voicing support, including France.
