Senator Cruz & Rep. Ros-Lehtinen Letter to UNESCO: Do Not Rewrite Jerusalem's History

"U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) today led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to members of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urging opposition to an item in UNESCO's provisional agenda, a resolution that would diminish the historic and verified Jewish and Christian ties to the Old City of Jerusalem in an effort to delegitimize Israel. Thirty-nine of Sen. Cruz's and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen's colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives joined them in sending the letter...

The ... text of the letter is included below:

As the 200th session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prepares to meet in the coming days in Paris, France, we write to urge your mission to oppose Item 25 of the provisional agenda under "Occupied Palestine" that diminishes the historic and verified Jewish and Christian ties to the Old City of Jerusalem.

As acknowledged by the draft text of Item 25, the Old City of Jerusalem is important to the three monotheistic religions...Yet, this resolution seems to prioritize the Muslim heritage of the Old City, while diminishing the ties of either of the other religions. For example, the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, along with the Western Wall, where Jews from all over the world have come to pray, are described exclusively as Muslim holy sites and referred to only by their Muslim names. When the Western Wall is referenced, it is only with quotation marks, implying that the title is unofficial and not based on historic fact.

UNESCO's mission is to build intercultural understanding through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. 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.

We therefore respectfully urge your mission to UNESCO to oppose Item 25 of the provisional agenda for the Executive Board's 200th session."