Why UNESCO Shouldn't Treat Jerusalem as a Weapon

"UNESCO's vote to deny Jewish and Christian connections to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount is dismaying but not surprising. Cutting those connections – understood by anyone with a passing knowledge of Judaism and Christianity - has been a goal of Palestinians and their Arab and Muslim supporters for decades.

Except for boilerplate about 'affirming the importance of the Old City and its walls for the three monotheistic faiths' the resolution does not acknowledge that Jerusalem has any, much less unique, significance to Jews and Christians.

The phrases 'safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Palestine,' and 'Al-Buraq Plaza 'Western Wall Plaza' –in quotes that mock the fact that the Western Wall is Judaism's holiest site - show what the resolution is really about, adopting the narrative that Jerusalem is sacred only to Muslims...

The UNESCO vote is harmful in two ways. For one, it shows how Palestinians and their supporters will subvert any international institution in order to vilify Israelis. More deeply, it is another example of how the world has entered a dangerous period of historical revisionism, where large and small lies undermine what is known about the past in order to justify the present...

There are a few encouraging signs. Countries that usually vote against Israel in the UN, like India, abstained. There have been a series of condemnations from UNESCO's Director General Irina Bokova, who said, 'To deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site,' and from figures such as the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who called the vote 'incomprehensible, unacceptable and wrong.'

Few countries will be moved by the latest round of blustering threats from the Palestinian Authority to introduce even more strident anti-Israel resolutions and deliberately damage UNESCO further.

Supporters of peace should remind UNESCO that the true meaning of Jerusalem is not as a prize or a weapon but as a shared place of holiness. If Jerusalem can be disconnected from Jews and Christians then everything is up for grabs."