Chairman of UNESCO’s Executive Board, Michael Worbs, says that communications have been underway to reach a consensus over a recent resolution denying Jewish ties to al-Aqsa Mosque, in annexed East Jerusalem.
Worbs said, according to the PNN, that more time and dialogue between the members of the board are needed to reach a consensus over historical ties with the holy site.
Thursday’s vote, which erased any Jewish ties to the Temple Mount or Western Wall, by referring to them only by their Islamic names, was taken by UNESCO’s 58-member Program and External Relations Commission, in advance of its expected ratification on Tuesday, by the UNESCO executive board, which is made up of the same member states.
On Friday, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the UNESCO resolution, and instructed the Israeli committee to UNESCO to freeze ties with the UN body.
UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, also stepped away from the decision, writing on the UNESCO website that “Jerusalem is the sacred city of the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu chided the UN for what he called “an imbalanced approach,” which he claimed rather “indicates the absurdity of the UN’s one-sided, unbalanced attitude toward Israel.”
Related interest — Rabbi Lau: 3rd Temple Can be Built Without Destroying Al Aqsa (VIDEO)
