Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO after the U.N. cultural agency adopted a resolution that Israel says denies the deep, historic Jewish connection to holy sites in Jerusalem. The resolution sponsored by several Arab countries says that Jerusalem and its holy sites are Muslim denying any Jewish connections, and blames Israel as an occupier responsible for violence.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s government in the West Bank welcomed the resolution, as did Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. A spokesman for Hamas, which is pledged to Israel’s destruction, called it a “step in the right direction.”
Israelis and many Jews around the world viewed it as the latest example of an ingrained anti-Israel bias at the United Nations, where Israel and its allies are far outnumbered by Arab countries and their supporters.
After the decision by UNESCO to deny history and ignore thousands of years of Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the Israel National Commission for UNESCO suspended all professional activities with the international organization.