Israel harshly criticized the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) this week for plans to designate the ancient city of Jericho as a Palestinian World Heritage site. The vote could come in two weeks when the World Heritage Committee convenes in Saudi Arabia in two weeks.
MK Dan Illouz (Likud) blasted the decision, saying “Jericho is first and foremost a city of biblical significance… and was the crossing point of the Israelites into the Land of Israel after wandering in the desert for forty years following the Exodus from Egypt. In a letter to UNESCO President Audrey Azoulay, Illouz referred to this Israel hating decision as archaeologically false, plus “an insult to Jews, but also an insult to Christians around the world who admire the site for its biblical history.”
The Knesset Land of Israel Caucus conducted an emergency field tour of threatened archaeological sites of the region. Avraham Binyamin, Regavim’s Director of Parliamentary Affairs said: “Once again, UNESCO has been exposed as an anti-Israel body that denies facts and history and violates its own charter, principles, and signed treaties. The enormity of Jewish history that lies on and below the surface of Jericho cannot be obscured, and we must not allow the Palestinian Authority to rewrite history while it continues to demolish and erase the ancient Jewish history of this land.”
The PA has also been slowly destroying the archaeological site of Joshua’s altar described in the Bible. Despite assurances by the Israeli government that they would work to prevent the destruction, construction has begun on an entire neighborhood on Mount Ebal in Northern Samaria
Yes, Israel cannot allow this to happen, but it needs to act now. Land grabs have been going on for way too long and now a so-called “world body” like UNESCO wants to help speed up the process. We will watch closely to see what steps Israel’s leadership takes to stop this latest attempt to eradicate Israel from the map.
Press Release: Knesset Caucus Emergency Field Tour, Naomi Linder Kahn/Regavim, September 3, 2023
WATCH: MK Simcha Rothman Speaks on the UNESCO Vote on Jericho