Trending Topics
|
Source: http://europe.newsweek.com/unesco-has-been-used-weapon-wage-cultural-war-521788
UNESCO Has Been Used as a Weapon to Wage a Cultural War Against Israel
(Newsweek-Europe) Dr. Moshe Kantor - The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently adopted a ruling that erases the Jewish people's historic connection to Jerusalem and its holy sites of the Temple Mount and Western Wall, referring to the two as purely Islamic sites. This is not just an affront to millions of Jews, it is also a denial of Christian history and is deeply offensive to over a billion Christians worldwide. UNESCO was intended to promote international cooperation and understanding, but in this instance it has been used as a weapon to wage a cultural war. It has a responsibility to work to strengthen religious co-existence and tolerance rather than facilitating division. We must confront the growing power and dangerous influence of those within the UN's cultural arm who have no interest in tolerance. If UNESCO does not demonstrate the highest level of tolerance for all peoples, religions, nations and cultures, it undermines its own legitimacy. The writer is president of the European Jewish Congress and the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation.