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ADL disappointed by "politically perverted" UNESCO decision

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  • ADL disappointed by "politically perverted" UNESCO decision

    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.

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