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Trump Supports Jewish Claim To Jerusalem, White House and Clinton Decry Resolution
“And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Yerushalayim.” Zechariah 12:9 (The Israel Bible™)
The UNESCO resolution erasing all connection between Judaism and Jerusalem generated strong reactions from all quarters, with the two presidential candidates stating unequivocally what their policy will be concerning Israel.
Donald Trump came out strongly against UNESCO’s vote, vowing to make Jerusalem Israel’s capital. In a Facebook post, the Republican presidential candidate vowed that, if elected, he would “recognize Jerusalem as the one true capital of Israel”. He also criticized President Barack Obama for striking out the world ‘Israel’ on the copy of his speech released to the media, reinforcing the official American policy that does not recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel.
Hillary Clinton opted to voice her disapproval via a spokesperson. Clinton’s foreign policy adviser, Laura Rosenberer expressed disappointment in the UNeSCO resolution in a statement:
“It’s Outrageous that UNESCO would deny the deep, historic connection between Judaism and the Temple Mount,” Rosenberer said. “As Secretary of State, Hillary fought to defend Israel against biased resolutions like there at the United Nations and other international organizations and would proudly do so again as President.”
The White House expressed concern about the politicizing of the UNESCO vote. A senior official told the Jerusalem Post:
“The recurring highly politicized use of the UNESCO Executive Board meetings only further underscores the urgent need for the United States to restore its leadership at UNESCO, which has been considerably undercut since the United States ceased funding UNESCO in 2011,” the senior official said. “We will continue to explore with Congress options for resuming payment of our dues, which will allow the United States to play a full role in this organization going forward and advance UNESCO’s work on issues like Holocaust education and countering terrorist narratives.”
State Department Spokesman Mark Toner said, “One-sided anti-Israel resolutions have been a recurring challenge at UNESCO in recent years.”
On Monday, a bipartisan group of American Lawmakers wrote a letter to UNESCO condemning the upcoming vote as a “blatantly biased resolution”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been highly critical of the UN recently but his cynical response to yesterdays resolution seems to indicate frustration.
