The UNESCO outrage

UNESCO has declared that Ma’arat Hamachpelah and Kever Rachel (the cave of the Patriarchs and the tomb of Rachel) are Palestinian mosques.

The UNESCO board voted 44 to 1, with 12 abstentions, to declare Rachel’s Tomb, which it referred to as the “Bilal bin Rabah Mosque,” as “an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories.” Israel says Muslims had also traditionally referred to Rachel’s Tomb in Arabic as “Qubat Rachel,” and the claim that it was a mosque was coined by Palestinians for political reasons only following Arab riots in 1996.

(via Daily Alert blog)

This outrage is compounded by the fact that during the Arafat orchestrated tunnel riots of September 1996, the Palestinians attacked the tomb of Rachel.

The Tomb, located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, is the burial site of the Biblical matriarch Rachel and is under Israeli control. During the September 1996 riots, Palestinian mobs assaulted the site and hurled rocks and firebombs at it, causing damage to the outer part of the structure. Palestinian policemen on the scene shot and wounded Israeli soldiers guarding the Tomb. Today, Rachel’s Tomb is again a major target for Palestinian attacks.

And during “Aqsa intifada” Israeli soldiers guarding the tomb were targeted.

Nov 10, 2000 – Sgt. Shahar Vekret, 20, of Lod was fatally shot by a Palestinian sniper near Rachel’s Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem.

Apr 2, 2001 – Sgt. Danny Darai, 20, of Arad, was killed by a Palestinian sniper after completing guard duty at Rachel’s Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem.

In Context provides background:

The “unilateral action” to which UNESCO is referring is Israel’s inclusion of these pivotal places in a list of Jewish heritage sites published last winter. And while the lack of broad coverage doesn’t make the UNESCO declaration any less repulsive, it may reflect on the seriousness attributed to it by rational people not immediately affected. Really, who cares what UNESCO says?

The trend exemplified by such perfidious proclamations, however, is cause for concern. For more on that, see my post on the earlier salvo in this particular battle, from back in February when the Heritage Sites were first announced.

Those who choose to blame Israel, solemnly declare that the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible. In this case, it doesn’t seem to bother the idiots at the UN, that they are effectively doing just that. I guess it’s hardly surprising that an agency of the UN would abet Palestinian efforts to deny the historical ties between Jews and Israel. What’s next?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.