Board statement on UNESCO vote

The Board of Deputies today welcomes the principled and correct decision of the UK Government to vote against the resolution tabled at UNESCO which included a condemnation of “Israeli aggression” on the Temple Mount.  The resolution had been amended after the original text referred to the Western Wall as being a Muslim holy site.

President Jonathan Arkush said: “Although the resolution was amended and the offensive reference to the Western Wall as being part of Al-Aqsa was dropped, it was still provocative and unacceptable, blaming Israel for Palestinian terror committed against its own citizens and failing to recognise the importance of Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron to the Jewish people. We commend HM government for taking a principled stand. We also welcome Director General Irina Bokova’s remarks yesterday in which she criticised the proposed resolution.”