UNESCO Parrots Palestinian Propaganda And Creates Palestinian Culture On-The-Fly (Update: Sign The Petition)

(Note: Please sign this petition to UNESCO)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has bought into another one of the Arab propaganda ploys and now accepts the idea that Rachel's Tomb is actually Bilal ibn Rabah mosque--a part of Palestinian 'culture'.

To do so is to ignore historical fact--something that one would not ordinarily expect from an organization that claims to have an interest in education, science and culture.

Then again, we are talking about the UN.

Here are the facts in a nutshell:

Rachel's Tomb, a Jewish Holy Place, Was Never a Mosque

Nadav Shragai

• UNESCO has declared that Rachel's Tomb near Jerusalem is the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque - endorsing a Palestinian claim that first surfaced only in 1996 and which ignores centuries of Muslim tradition.
• As opposed to the Temple Mount and the Cave of the Patriarchs which also serve as the location of mosques, Rachel's Tomb never served as a mosque for the Muslims. The Muslim connection to the site derives from its relation to Rachel and has no connection to Bilal ibn Rabah, Mohammed's first muezzin.
• Rachel's Tomb, located some 460 meters south of Jerusalem's municipal boundary, has been identified for over 1,700 years as the grave of the Jewish matriarch Rachel. Many generations of Jews have visited the place for prayer. The depiction of Rachel's Tomb has appeared in thousands of Jewish religious books, paintings, photographs, stamps, and works of art.
• There is a Muslim cemetery on three sides of the compound mainly belonging to the Bedouin Taamra tribe, which began burying its dead at the site due to its proximity to a holy personality. Members of the Taamra tribe harassed Jews visiting the tomb and collected extortion money to enable them to visit the site. With this background, Moses Montefiore obtained a permit from the Turks to build another room adjacent to Rachel's Tomb in 1841 to keep the Muslims away from the room of the grave and to help protect the Jews at the site.
• Jewish caretakers managed the site from 1841 until it fell into Jordanian hands in 1948. In contravention of the armistice agreement, Jordan prevented Jews from accessing the site during all the years of its rule (1948-1967). On October 19, 2010, the anniversary of her death, some 100,000 Jews visited Rachel's Tomb.
• In 1830 the Turks issued the firman that gave legal force to Rachel's Tomb being recognized as a Jewish holy site. The governor of Damascus sent a written order to the Mufti of Jerusalem to fulfill the Sultan's order: "the tomb of esteemed Rachel, the mother of our Lord Joseph...they (the Jews) are accustomed to visit it from ancient days; and no one is permitted to prevent them or oppose them (from doing) this."
• Ironically, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, whose government has been described as "neo-Ottoman" in outlook, told the Saudi paper al-Watan (March 7, 2010) that the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb "were not and never will be Jewish sites, but Islamic sites."

That's the summary--read the whole thing.

While the Arab claim of the mosque was first made in 1996, according to Google News Timeline, the first mention in the public media seems to be an article in AlJazeera in 2003, in connection to an Arab who was shot while trying to stab Israeli soldiers.

In 2005, The Organization of the Islamic Conference came out with the Arab claim that Israel took the Bilal Ibn Rabah mosque and turned it into a synagogue:

Report of OIC Secretary General to 3rd Extraordinary Summit in Mecca on Palestine, Al Quda Al Sharif: 7-8 December 2005
10/12/2005
Source: http://www.oic-oci.org

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL
ON THE CAUSE OF PALESTINE AND AL QUDS AL SHARIF

SUBMITTED TO THE THIRD EXTRAORDINARY ISLAMIC SUMMIT CONFERENCE
MAKKAH AL-MUKARRAMAH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
5 - 6 DHUL QA'ADA 1426H
(7 – 8 DECEMBER 2005)
...The occupation authorities have completed the construction of most of the wall to the south of Al Quds such that the two cities of Bethlehem and Beit Jala remained behind an 11-meter high wall which has taken thousands of hectares from Palestinian land and has turned the native city of Jesus into a city of ghosts, completely isolated from Al Quds. Israeli occupation forces also turned Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque situated to the north of Bethlehem into a Jewish synagogue and annexed it to Israel.

Who knows how much UNESCO buys into that claim, but to get the full flavor of the ignorance and chutzpah of UNESCO, you need to look at their documents.

The issue was raised, not for the first time, in September:

IMPLEMENTATION OF 184 EX/DECISION 37 ON “THE TWO PALESTINIAN SITES

OF AL-HARAM AL-IBRAHIMI/TOMB OF THE PATRIARCHS IN AL-KHALIL/

HEBRON AND THE BILÂL IBN RÂBÂH MOSQUE/RACHEL’S TOMB

IN BETHLEHEM”

1. At the 184th session of the Executive Board, an item 184 EX/37 concerning “the two
Palestinian sites of al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in al-Khalil/Hebron and the Bilâl
ibn Râbâh Mosque/Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem” was introduced on the agenda upon the request of Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. The same Member States, joined by Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Malaysia, Pakistan, Senegal, Venezuela and Viet Nam submitted 184 EX/PX/DR.5 to the PX Commission.
2. No consensus having been reached on this item despite considerable efforts,
184 EX/Decision 37 was adopted by the Executive Board, to which the Draft Decision was
attached, postponing the examination of this item to its 185th session.

Last month, the measure was approved:

15 Implementation of Decision 184 EX/37 on “the two Palestinian sites of al-Haram al-
Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in al-Khalil/Hebron and the Bilâl ibn Rabâh
Mosque/Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem” (185 EX/15)
15. After considering this item, the Programme and External Relations Commission
recommended by a vote taken by roll-call that the Executive Board adopt the following draft
decision, with 44 votes in favour, 1 vote against and 12 abstentions, the United States of America having voted against:
The Executive Board,

1. Recalling 184 EX/Decision 37 and having examined document 185 EX/15,

2. Also recalling resolutions and decisions of UNESCO on the protection of the cultural heritage in the occupied Arab territories, as well as the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions (1949), the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and the related Protocols and the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972),

3. Further recalling the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970),

4. Affirming that nothing in the present decision, which aims at the safeguarding of the cultural heritage located in the occupied Arab territories, shall in any way affect the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, in particular the relevant Security Council resolutions,

5. Sharing the concern expressed by the Director-General regarding the announcement made by the Israeli authorities that two sites, namely al-Haram al-Ibrahimi/Tomb of the Patriarchs in the city of al-Khalil/Hebron and the Mosque of Bilāl bin Rābāh (Tomb of Rachel), in Bethlehem, both located in the occupied Palestinian territories, are to be included in the Israeli national heritage list,

6. Also sharing the conviction affirmed by the international community that the two sites are of religious significance for Judaism, Christianity and Islam,


7. Reaffirms that the two sites are an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories and that any unilateral action by the Israeli authorities is to be considered a violation of international law, the UNESCO conventions and the United Nations and Security Council resolutions;


8. Regrets the Israeli authorities’ decision to include the two sites on its national heritage list;


9. Urges the Israeli authorities to abide by international law and the relevant international conventions and decisions;


10. Also urges the Israeli authorities to remove the two sites from its national heritage list;

11. Thanks the Director-General for her commitment to strengthening UNESCO’s financial and technical assistance to the Palestinian educational and cultural institutions in compliance with the UNESCO General Conference resolution at its 35th session;

12. Invites the Director-General to submit to it a follow-up report at its 186th session and decides to include this item on the agenda of the 186th session of the Executive Board.

The only thing more horrifying than seeing UNESCO distort history on behalf of the Arab world is the realization that this is only going to encourage the Arabs to build on their success.

UPDATE: Please sign this petition to UNESCO

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