Rep. Alan Lowenthal joined 18 other Jewish representatives today in responding to a UNESCO resolution blaming Israel for a surge in violence and violating the status quo of the Temple Mount, his office announced.
In their letter, the group calls the resolution “offensive” and “incendiary” and commends the Obama Administration for its opposition to the UNESCO resolution.
“Furthermore, the continued false allegations against Israel as having violated the status quo at the Temple Mount, which is under the custodianship of Jordan and the Wakf Muslim religious trust, and blaming Israel for the surge in violent attacks, must be condemned,” the letter states. “Such accusations have been perpetrated by the Palestinian leadership to incite continued violence, and the resulting attacks targeting Israeli civilians in recent weeks are an outrage.
The letter also proclaims there to be “zero justification” for such acts of terrorism, and cites religious freedom as reasons for Palestinians honoring the Jewish claim to shared holy sites in addition to Palestinian claims.
“Designating Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs as exclusively Muslim sites is dismissive of other religious traditions, and the continued refusal to show any respect or recognition for the legitimacy of Jewish existence in the ancient Jewish homeland once again demonstrates a central obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” the letter states.
The complete list of those who signed the letter includes Lowenthal, Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Sandy Levin (D-MI), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Susan Davis (D-CA), Steve Israel (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Jared Polis (D-CO), David Cicilline (D-RI), Alan Grayson (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY).