19 parliamentarians from 17 countries who are visiting Israel on Thursday signed the first international declaration against UNESCO’s resolution which ignores the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, calling for international recognition of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.
The declaration was presented to Deputy Minister Michael Oren (Kulanu).
The parliamentarians are in Israel to participate in the 5th annual Israel Allies Foundation Jerusalem Chairman’s Conference at the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem, and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Israel's capital.
The conference began on Wednesday with a tour of Hevron, where the MPs visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Hevron Museum in Hadassah house and the Tel Rumeida lookout point.
The delegation includes Italian Senator Lucio Malan, who passed a bill prohibiting Holocaust denial, Dutch MP Kees van der Staaij,who passed a bill banning funding for BDS, and MEP Bas Belder, the head of the Israel Allies Caucus in the European Parliament.
MPs also came from Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Greece, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Chile, and Malawi.
The UNESCO resolution ignoring the Jewish connection to Jerusalem was originally approved last week. The agency on Tuesday held a revote on the resolution and passed it again.
The second vote occurred after Mexico changed its mind on the issue and called to change its vote and also to hold a revote on the question altogether.
Palestinian Authority officials welcomed the passing of the resolution, claiming that the vote was "about occupation."
Israeli officials blasted the resolution, as did a group of Jewish American lawmakers who on Wednesday issued a statement denouncing the move.