Wiesenthal Centre Open Letter to UNESCO: "Deter the Palestine Authority from Destroying Heritage Sites!”

Paris - In a letter to Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, the international guardian of cultural heritage, The WiesenthalCentre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, relayed the “outrage of the Centre’s members concerning the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ongoing plan to destroy an archaeologicalsite,Tel Orma - a.k.a. Horvat Ormah or Khirbet el-Ormeh (in Arabic) - an ancient Hasmonean fortress from the era of the Maccabees.”

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Samuels and the Israel Hayom daily, have noted that “the Tel Orma archaeological site - including the ruins of theBiblical town of Aruma - are unfortunately located in the West Bank 'Area B', under PA civil jurisdiction,, Over the past decade, this situation has reportedly meant being subject to anonslaught of irresponsible plunder, with the intent to supply local museums with ancient so-called 'Palestinian' artifacts.”

Israel Hayom points to “the top of the site, now surmounted by a huge Palestinian flag, as already flattened, which will causeirreparable damage to the ancient water cisterns and pulverizing other artifacts that might still be buried there. Two-thousand-year-old structures and walls havebeen demolished and the area used to build a new mosque." Ultimately, the site is to become a 'Palestinian' national park.

The Centre stated, “If pillaging ancient Jewish artifacts is tantamount to identity theft, the devastation of the site is moresimilar to enacting a cultural scrapping policy. It is revealing what the PA, in its current mindset, would do to other heritage sites and artifacts.”

Samuels suggested, “If the PA destroys Tel Orma so carelessly, as a Jewish ancient site, how would they treat ancient Roman,Christian, Ottoman or other cultural sites? How would the PA peddle Bar-Kochba coins or manipulate the Dead Sea Scrolls - still on their official UNESCO 'wish list. What would be their fate ifthey ever got their hands on them?"

The letter reminded the Director-General that, “there are over a thousand archaeological sites in the PA-controlled sectors ofthe West Bank, How can the Palestinian Authority be deterred from plundering or destroying heritage sites?”

“As an Associate Partner, the Wiesenthal Centre urges UNESCO to publicly denounce this grave abuse,

Madam Director-General, it is the responsibility of UNESCO and the World Heritage Centre, to warn the Palestinian Authorityaccordingly ” concluded Samuels.

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join theCenter on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizationswith over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the LatinAmerican Parliament (Parlatino).