Last update - 00:00 01/02/2008
UNESCO chief: We are trying to mediate over Temple Mount bridge
By Assaf Uni, Haaretz Correspondent
PARIS - UNESCO is attempting to mediate among Israel, Jordan and the Waqf Muslim religious trust over construction at the controversial Mugrabi Ascent in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Koichiro Matsuura, discussed the efforts in an interview with Haaretz this week. Matsuura is visiting Israel next week.
Matsuura said that although a three-way meeting in Jerusalem two weeks ago ended without progress, the talks were "conducted in a positive atmosphere" and he is very optimistic about the next meeting, scheduled to take place in the next few weeks.
Last month the Jerusalem planning and building council approved the government's construction plan for the area, which includes expanding the women's section of the Western Wall plaza as part of the building of a new bridge leading to the Temple Mount. The Waqf and Jordan are continuing their vehement opposition to the Israeli plan.
"It's too early to say whether the solution will be a compromise between Israel's bridge plan and Jordan's demands," Matsuura said. "We see our role as a facilitator and mediator, and our aim is to arrive at an agreed solution."
He said that last February, when Arabs in Israel and in Arab countries rioted over the start of construction at the site, "the parties didn't want to talk. Since then we've come a long way and we're heading in the right direction." Construction at the site has been suspended since the riots.
Matsuura said UNESCO "doesn't want to deal with political issues - we are duty-bound to preserve the authenticity of Jerusalem."
Despite UNESCO's involvement in the issue, the Mugrabi Ascent is not on Matsuura's official itinerary for next week. The retired, 70-year-old Japanese diplomat, who has headed the UN organization for eight years now, will focus on meeting Israeli academics and politicians.
On Tuesday, Matsuura will visit the Weizmann Institute of Science, where UNESCO is helping to create a bioinformatics center. On Wednesday, he will meet with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between UNESCO and Israel. On Thursday, Matsuura will meet with President Shimon Peres.
In between the visits and meetings, Matsuura and Mayor Ron Huldai will tour Tel Aviv's White City area, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. "Israel is becoming an extremely important part of UNESCO," Matsuura said. "And I intend to make it clear to the Israeli side that we are interested in advancing these relations."
According to Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO, David Kornbluth, the aim of the memo of understanding is to "organize under one roof all of the existing partnerships between Israel and UNESCO. Kornbluth said Israel gives UNESCO around $1 million a year, out of the organization's annual budget of about $600 million. The organization, which is based in Paris, counts 191 states as members and employs over 2,000 people. A general meeting is held every two years.
At the last general conference, in October, the organization adopted a resolution for the first time that calls on UNESCO to promote awareness of the Holocaust through international education programs.
"It's true that in the past there was a great deal of resistance on the part of Arab states, which did not see the need for marking the Holocaust, in particular, in contrast to other instances of genocide," Matsuura said. He noted that "after strenuous effort they changed their minds."
Matsuura says the resolution passed in the UN two years ago designating January 27 as an international day of commemoration for the Holocaust facilitated the passage of the UNESCO resolution.