“What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet;” so says an iconic line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. While the sentiment that names are unimportant is enticing, the reality is that these star-crossed lovers’ names are deeply important. So, too, are the names we bestow on other things.
David Singer: UNESCO’s decision to admit “Palestine” as a member state in 2011 in breach of UNESCO’s own Constitution has come back to bite UNESCO with a vengeance – with America and Israel both quitting their membership of UNESCO on 31 December 2018.
The election of the first Jewish director-general of the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, French politician Audrey Azoulay, is raising hope that with her background and political experience, she could return the organisation to its original mission.
The State Department announced on Thursday that the United States would be withdrawing from the UN agency UNESCO, citing financial reasons, the need for reform and the body’s “continuing anti-Israel bias”...writes Alan M. Dershowitz.
UNESCO’s decision to admit “Palestine” as a member state in 2011 in apparent breach of UNESCO’s own Constitution has come back to bite UNESCO with a vengeance – as America and Israel now give formal notice of their intention to quit UNESCO on 31 December 2018...writes David Singer.
Following the U.S. and Israel governments’ announcements this week that the two countries intend to withdraw from UNESCO, World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder urged the United Nations body “to focus on its core mandate rather than addressing political matters that fall outside the organisation’s purview.”
Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), said he was “cautiously optimistic” regarding UNESCO’s postponement of resolutions dealing with Israel and, in particular, Jerusalem.
The World Jewish Congress has denounced a UNESCO World Heritage Committee vote in favour of a motion challenging Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem, and urged member states convening in Krakow to vote against a Palestinian request denying Jewish historical ties to the Old City of Hebron.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has written to Australia's Julie Bishop following the UNESCO resolution denying Jewish connection to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin has commented on the expected UNESCO vote questioning the historic connection of the Jewish people to the Western Wall.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) has called on the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to refrain from adopting “yet another inflammatory, one-sided decision” that harshly condemns Israel and denies or downplays Judaism’s and Christianity’s connections to the holy sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem has been presented with a Certificate of Recognition by UNESCO marking the inclusion of the Pages of Testimony Memorial Collection in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
