A UNESCO resolution passed on Wednesday blatantly targeted Israel as the aggressor in the current swell of tensions with Palestinians over the use of the Temple Mount and almost succeeded in reclassifying the Western Wall as a Muslim-only site.
The resolution said in part:
[UNESCO] deeply deplores the recent repression in East Jerusalem, and the failure of Israel, the Occupying Power, to cease the persistent excavations and works in East Jerusalem particularly in and around the Old City… [and] strongly condemns Israeli aggression and illegal measures restricting freedom of worship and access to the holy Muslim site of the Al-Aqsa mosque.
An RT report indicates that two other holy sites, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, were deemed "an integral part of Palestine," according to the resolution. The draft was modified at the last minute as it became apparent that the Wailing Wall was also going to be off limits for Israelis. Even worse, the holy sites listed in the resolution were all written in their Arabic names and devoid of any historical Jewish link to the sites.
Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hachohen, spoke before the vote. She said:
The Western Wall and Jerusalem are the heart and the soul of every Jew. There is no voting, no tribunal, no parliament and even no army that can disconnect those.
Once the vote took place, 26 nations voted in favor of the resolution with six against: United States, United Kingdom, Estonia, Netherlands and Czech Republic.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the tensions surrounding the Temple Mount has led to 10 Israeli deaths and 80 wounded as Palestinians continue to clash with Israeli Defense Forces. Since the beginning of October, 24 Palestinian terrorists have been killed carrying out attacks, and another 24 killed in violence against police.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been under intense criticism as of late with multiple outlets pegging the prime minister as responsible for stoking the violence. Several recent headlines are of note.
Salon says Israel has descended into "unmasked, right wing extremism" causing a new generation of Palestinians to "fight occupation, settler-colonialism, [and] apartheid." Salon's Omar Barghouti has labeled Palestinian resistance as "a spontaneous reaction to the most racist, far-right government in Israel's history."
Slate's William Saletan faults Netanyahu for "cultivating an enemy within" and "stok[ing] the hatred" by demanding Palestinians coexist in peace with Jews but refusing to reciprocate the same ideals.
And though America stood by Israel in this UNESCO vote, the White House has been quick to join the finger-pointing chorus in telling the PM, "The inflammatory rhetoric needs to stop," as Press Secretary Josh Earnest did in response to Netanyahu saying that Hitler's Holocaust was encouraged Palestinian leadership at the time.
Perhaps the Obama administration needs a reminder of what it's like to be in Israel's shoes:
