Leon J. Halac is an accountant and businessman. He is also a great-grandfather, Argentinian, and Zionist who has been publishing opinion pieces in Iton Gadol and AJN since 2025.
Background
In November 1945, just months after the end of World War II and the Holocaust, the nations gathered in London adopted the Constitution of UNESCO. Its Preamble clearly states the purpose for which the organization was created:
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed."
It further declares:
“That a peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of governments would not secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world, and that therefore that peace must be founded upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind."
UNESCO was founded to help ensure that tragedies such as the world wars and the Holocaust would never happen again by strengthening peace through education, science, culture, and intellectual cooperation among peoples.
To fulfill that mission, its decisions must rest upon verifiable historical, archaeological, scientific, and cultural evidence, inspired by the universal ethical principles upon which the organization was founded, rather than by temporary political interests.
UNESCO was not created to resolve theological disputes or to determine which religious tradition possesses greater spiritual legitimacy. Its mission is to protect humanity’s shared cultural heritage, preserve historical memory, and promote peaceful coexistence among peoples.
Article 1(c) of its Constitution states:
“It will assist in the conservation, advancement and diffusion of knowledge, by assuring the conservation and protection of the world’s inheritance of books, works of art and monuments of history and science."
In October 2016, UNESCO adopted Resolution 200 EX/PX/DR.25, which reaffirms the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls for the three monotheistic religions, while declaring that its objective is "to safeguard the cultural heritage of Palestine and the distinctive character of East Jerusalem."
But UNESCO’s duty is to safeguard the cultural heritage of all peoples, not to prioritize the heritage of one people over another.
No majority vote, however large, can alter the principles upon which UNESCO was founded.
As its own Preamble declares:
“A peace based exclusively upon political and economic arrangements of governments would not secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the peoples of the world."
Nor can a majority vote overturn another of its founding principles:
“That peace must be founded upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind."
The original statement:
For many years, it was claimed that Moshe Dayan had "handed over the Temple Mount to the Waqf," but if we return to the original source-the statement Dayan delivered on June 7, 1967, just hours after the reunification of Jerusalem-we find no reference to the Waqf, nor any transfer of sovereignty.
The original statement is clear:
“This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have reunited Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to part from it again.
To our Arab neighbors, we extend, even at this moment-and with special emphasis-our hand in peace. To our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the holy places of other peoples, nor to interfere with the followers of other religions, but to safeguard their integrity and to live there together with others, in unity."-Moshe Dayan, 1967
The subsequent course of events differed profoundly from the vision expressed by Dayan. His offer of peace and coexistence was met not with reciprocal recognition, but with recurring confrontation. His commitment to full religious freedom evolved, in practice, into increasing restrictions on Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount, while Israel continued to protect access to the holy sites of all faiths.
Over the following decades, repeated outbreaks of violence at the Temple Mount reinforced a cycle in which security measures and political confrontation became inseparable.
Eventually, even the name “Al-Aqsa" itself was invoked to legitimize campaigns of violence, culminating in “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," the name chosen by Hamas for its terrorist attack of October 7, 2023.
Analysis
In light of UNESCO’s founding principles, it is legitimate to ask whether Resolution 200 EX/PX/DR.25 remains faithful to the organization’s original mandate.
UNESCO’s Constitution was never intended to protect the cultural heritage of one people at the expense of another. It was created to safeguard the universal heritage of humanity. When a resolution appears to privilege one national narrative over a site recognized as possessing universal historical value, serious questions inevitably arise regarding its fidelity to that mandate.
No temporary majority can amend UNESCO’s founding principles. Its own Preamble reminds us that peace cannot be sustained solely through political agreements, but must instead be grounded in the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind.
For that reason, history must be studied through original documents, archaeological evidence, and verifiable sources-not through shifting political narratives.
This study demonstrates how easily repetition can replace truth. Returning to primary sources reveals that widely accepted assertions do not always correspond to the documentary record. It also confirms the necessity of grounding every historical interpretation in original evidence.
When an international organization disregards those sources and adopts resolutions that contradict the principles upon which it was founded, the issue ceases to be merely academic. It becomes institutional, legal, and moral.
Conclusion
This work does not seek to rewrite history.
Its purpose is to return to the original documents and allow them to guide our understanding of the past.
Because when the sources speak, narratives must be willing to correct themselves.
UNESCO should repeal Resolution 200 EX/PX/DR.25. The Member States that supported it should acknowledge their responsibility and publicly apologize for endorsing a resolution that distorts a site of universal historical heritage.
The United Nations, as UNESCO’s parent organization, should likewise recognize its institutional responsibility for validating decisions incompatible with the principles upon which both organizations were founded.
When history is manipulated by the very institutions entrusted with protecting it, not only is the past betrayed-the future itself is placed at risk.