Full text: UNESCO letter nixing Israel exhibit due to Arab pressure

Dear Rabbi Hier, Dear Rabbi Cooper,

Thank you for your letter of 14 January, 2014, regarding the postponement of the inauguration of the exhibition, co-organised with UNESCO and planned for 20 January, 2014, entitled “People, Book, Land – The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Holy Land.” In this regard, I wish to say from the outset that I regret that a number of elements relating to the proposed exhibition by the Simon Wiesenthal Center were still not cleared when I received the letter from the Chairperson of the Arab Group, despite the constructive cooperation and dialogue in the preparatory phases of the exhibition.
As Eric Falt, my Assistant Director-General for External Relations, indicated in his letter of 14 January, 2014, to Mr Shimon Samuels, the postponement of the inauguration follows on the receipt of a letter from the Chairperson of the Arab Group at UNESCO, written on behalf of the 22 Members of the Arab Group to UNESCO, which raises the concern that the exhibition might have a potential impact on the peace process and current negotiations in the Middle East.
UNESCO is deeply committed to the successful outcome of the peace process in order to achieve stability in the region, and we have a responsibility in ensuring that current efforts in this regard are not endangered. As you understand, UNESCO is fully in line with the overall efforts of the UN system to support the peace process in the Middle East. This is precisely why I, as Director-General, have been always committed to deploying relentless efforts in order to achieve consensus on ail the issues falling within UNESCOs educational, scientific, and cultural mandate in order to avoid confrontation and politicization.