The Ancient Biblical City Of Jericho Is Approved As A "World Heritage Site" By The UN.
The ancient biblical city of Jericho's ruins have been voted to become a World Heritage Site by a United Nations committee, but Israel is upset about the vote's specifics.
The decision to shift the ruins of Jericho to "Palestine," which Israel denies, was made by the U.N. World Heritage Committee at a conference in Saudi Arabia. Jericho, one of the oldest continually inhabited towns on Earth, is still a heavily populated metropolis in the West Bank.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, is the parent organization of the World Heritage Committee. In response to claims that UNESCO was unfavorable to Israel, the organization was disbanded in 2019.
The Book of Joshua, which describes how Israel overcame the city, is where Jericho first appears in the Bible.
In 2019, the administration of the late President Donald Trump joined Israel in resigning from UNESCO, confirming the organization's accusations of bias.
The organization has been under fire for its criticism of Israel's occupation of east Jerusalem, for designating historic Jewish buildings as Palestinian heritage sites, and for awarding full membership to Palestine in 2011.
As the U.S. ambassador to the UN at the time, Nikki Haley stated, "UNESCO is among the most corrupt and politically biased UN agencies." The U.S. officially withdrew from this swamp today.
But earlier this year, the Biden administration made clear that it intended to rejoin UNESCO.
The Biden administration "firmly believes that the United States must be present and active on the global stage wherever U.S. interests can be protected and advanced," a spokesperson for the State Department said in June.
The representative listed a number of these interests, including "increasing access to education, preserving cultural heritage, safeguarding journalists, establishing best practices for new and emerging technologies, Holocaust education, and much more."
For the fiscal year 2024, the Biden administration requested $150 million from the United States for UNESCO.
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