'The sanctity of the Western Wall doesn't need anyone's approval'

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the chief rabbi of the Western Wall, on Friday played down the UNESCO resolution denying the Jewish connections between the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.

"I do not know in the history of the world another 'occupying force' whose land is full of relics of his ancestors. The sanctity of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall to the Jewish people goes back generations, and does not need anyone's approval," said Rabbi Rabinovitch.

"Millions of worshipers at the Western Wall facing the Temple Mount are the Jewish people's response to UNESCO. UNESCO, which was founded in the name of high values, attacks the State of Israel which is investing enormous efforts to expose and ensure access to holy sites for all religions, and encourages the Muslim Waqf who systematically destroys all the archaeological relics on the Temple Mount. With this unfortunate decision, UNESCO has lost the right to existence," he added.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)