United Nations Moving Forward With Plan to Declare Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall A Muslim Holy Site
Israel said Monday that it is working to thwart a Palestinian bid to have the Western Wall in Jerusalem declared a Muslim holy site by the UN’s cultural body in a vote [today].
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry called the proposal “an attempt to distort history and blur the connection between the Jewish people and its holiest place and to create a false reality.”
The Western Wall is one of the few remnants of the ancient retaining wall that held up an artificial plateau on which a refurbished Second Temple stood in the reign of King Herod the Great. The Temple and much of the wall were later destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.
For Jews, who are forbidden from praying on the Temple Mount by Israeli regulations, the Western Wall is the prayer site closest to the ancient site of the Holy of Holies inside the destroyed Temple. It is considered the holiest site where Jews are allowed to pray.
According to Muslim tradition, the Temple Mount is where Mohammad tied the winged animal Buraq, which he rode on the night he ascended to heaven. Atop it lies the Dome of the Rock — a Muslim shrine — and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Read more from “United Nations Moving Forward With Plan to Declare Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall A ‘Muslim Holy Site'” HERE)
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UPDATE: UNESCO has decreed that the second and third holiest sites in the Jewish faith are actually Muslim. At the same time, the initial draft proposal declaring that the Western Wall was also a Muslim holy site was withdrawn after facing widespread criticism
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has adopted a resolution condemning Israel for restricting the freedom of worship at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque and for mishandling holy sites.
The resolution submitted by Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates on behalf of Palestine, was adopted Wednesday with 26 votes in favor, six against, including the United States, Britain and Germany, and 25 abstentions, including France.
The adopted resolution referred to Jerusalem as “the occupied capital of Palestine”. It condemned “restrictions of freedom of worship at the Al-Aqsa mosque”, reaffirmed other complaints about Israeli management of holy sites and Israeli actions in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
The head of UN’s cultural body, Irina Bokova, called on the UNESCO board Tuesday “to take decisions that do not further inflame tensions on the ground and that encourage respect for the sanctity of the holy sites”. (Read more from this story HERE)
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