UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova: “Jerusalem is Capital of King David”

This is big. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, the organization whose executive board last year approved a resolution that denied any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and Western Wall, has come out to say that Jerusalem is the historical capital of the Jewish people.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has firmly rebuffed any attempts to deny Jewish history connected to Jerusalem. In a unique statement at the ECI policy conference in the European Parliament on Thursday she said that “in the Torah, Jerusalem is the capital of King David, where Solomon built the Temple and placed the Ark of the Covenant.”

Distinguishing between her role as the highest official of UNESCO and the resolutions passed by member states of the same organisation, she stated – “to deny, conceal or erase any of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions undermines the integrity of the site, and runs counter to the reasons that justifies its inscription in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The protection of the heritage of Jerusalem is part of a broader vision for peace and the fight against all forms of denial of Jewish history, delegitimisation of Israel and anti-Semitism”, she said. UNESCO is the United Nations specialized agency for education, science and culture.

This is not the first time she has spoken out against the infamous resolution. She did so right after the vote, although she got something historically wrong back then.

But here, she is right on the money, and I thank her for telling it like it is.

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