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States News Service
June 29, 2012 Friday
ADL DISAPPOINTED BY 'POLITICALLY PERVERTED' UNESCO DECISION TO
DESIGNATE BETHLEHEM CHURCH AS ENDANGERED
NEW YORK, N.Y.
The following information was released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL):
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep disappointment
that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee ignored expert advice and its
own established procedures and bowed to a politicized Palestinian bid
to put Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity on the list of endangered
World Heritage Sites. In light of this and other highly politicized
moves by the body, the League said the United States should reconsider
its participation in UNESCO, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
"With this vote, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has forsaken its
responsibility for protecting the world's most important and sacred
sites, and has proven to be another hackneyed, politicized body," said
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "As a result, the United
States, which is not a member of the World Heritage Committee, should
re-evaluate the value of remaining a member of UNESCO.
"We do not dispute that the Church of the Nativity is a treasured and
sacred site that could qualify for special status," said Mr. Foxman.
"We dispute the process, which supported the Palestinian's cynical
strategy to circumvent World Heritage procedures and facetiously claim
the site to be endangered. In bowing to this perverted Palestinian
bid, the committee ignored the recommendations of their own advisory
council's investigation and the entreaties of the church's own
religious leadership who must live with the practical implications of
this decision."
ADL expressed appreciation to the six countries that voted against the
measure in keeping with established procedures and norms. Thirteen
countries voted in support of the designation, and two abstained. The
League thanked the United States for their important efforts to try to
prevent this unfortunate outcome.
The Palestinian Authority applied for expedited World Heritage status
for the church one of the most sacred sites for Christians claiming it
was endangered. This procedure is generally used for sites deemed to
be in dire physical danger of destruction.
The PA's claim that the site was imperiled was disputed by the World
Heritage Committee's own advisory body, the International Council on
Monuments and Sites, which said the church does not require emergency
care.
Moreover, in a letter leaked to the media, the three guardians of the
Church, Theophilus III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista
Pizzaballa, the Custos of the Holy Land, and Archbishop Torkom
Manoogian, Patriarch of the Armenian Church who over centuries have
worked out a fragile status quo in managing the church - wrote to
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opposing the authority's bid for
emergency UNESCO status.
In the past, ADL has been critical of UNESCO's decisions regarding
extending full membership to the Palestinians and its decisions on
holy sites in Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that
counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
June 29, 2012 Friday
ADL DISAPPOINTED BY 'POLITICALLY PERVERTED' UNESCO DECISION TO
DESIGNATE BETHLEHEM CHURCH AS ENDANGERED
NEW YORK, N.Y.
The following information was released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL):
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed deep disappointment
that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee ignored expert advice and its
own established procedures and bowed to a politicized Palestinian bid
to put Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity on the list of endangered
World Heritage Sites. In light of this and other highly politicized
moves by the body, the League said the United States should reconsider
its participation in UNESCO, the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
"With this vote, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has forsaken its
responsibility for protecting the world's most important and sacred
sites, and has proven to be another hackneyed, politicized body," said
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "As a result, the United
States, which is not a member of the World Heritage Committee, should
re-evaluate the value of remaining a member of UNESCO.
"We do not dispute that the Church of the Nativity is a treasured and
sacred site that could qualify for special status," said Mr. Foxman.
"We dispute the process, which supported the Palestinian's cynical
strategy to circumvent World Heritage procedures and facetiously claim
the site to be endangered. In bowing to this perverted Palestinian
bid, the committee ignored the recommendations of their own advisory
council's investigation and the entreaties of the church's own
religious leadership who must live with the practical implications of
this decision."
ADL expressed appreciation to the six countries that voted against the
measure in keeping with established procedures and norms. Thirteen
countries voted in support of the designation, and two abstained. The
League thanked the United States for their important efforts to try to
prevent this unfortunate outcome.
The Palestinian Authority applied for expedited World Heritage status
for the church one of the most sacred sites for Christians claiming it
was endangered. This procedure is generally used for sites deemed to
be in dire physical danger of destruction.
The PA's claim that the site was imperiled was disputed by the World
Heritage Committee's own advisory body, the International Council on
Monuments and Sites, which said the church does not require emergency
care.
Moreover, in a letter leaked to the media, the three guardians of the
Church, Theophilus III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista
Pizzaballa, the Custos of the Holy Land, and Archbishop Torkom
Manoogian, Patriarch of the Armenian Church who over centuries have
worked out a fragile status quo in managing the church - wrote to
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas opposing the authority's bid for
emergency UNESCO status.
In the past, ADL has been critical of UNESCO's decisions regarding
extending full membership to the Palestinians and its decisions on
holy sites in Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading
organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that
counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.