The executive committee of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) a few days ago, recognized the tomb of Biblical matriarch Rachel, between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, as the Mosque of Bilal Ibn-Rabach according to a Friday report by Yisrael Hayom (Israel today). The recognition was approved by a large majority despite Israeli opposition and a United States vote against the proposal.
Research by reporter Nadav Shragai shows that while there is a Muslim cemetery surrounding the facility, it was never used as a mosque and always referred to by local Arabs as "Rachel's Tomb", until the Temple Tunnel disturbances of 1996, when they started using the name recognized by UNESCO. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz of the Western Wall and other holy places called the UNESCO decision an outrageous distortion of history and said Israel should think seriously about future cooperation.