SWC Calls on UNESCO to Denounce Joseph’s Tomb Attack

April 12, 2022

Proposes new campaign to protect holy sites 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is calling on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to denounce the April 9 attack by Palestinian rioters on Joseph’s Tomb, a sacred site for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.     

“As UNESCO is the guardian of world heritage sites... we urge you to denounce this desecration and to convene a meeting of the three Abrahamic faiths to take measures against those bent on destruction,” Dr. Shimon Samuels, SWC’s Director for International Relations wrote in a letter to UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay. 

Last Saturday, a Palestinian mob set fire to the site which is named after the biblical Joseph and located in Palestinian-controlled Nablus. Joseph’s tomb is considered holy by Jews, Muslims, Christians and Samaritans but has been the site of numerous violent attacks by Palestinians over the last 20 years. While some Jews believe the biblical Joseph, son of the Patriarch Jacob, is buried in the tomb, Muslims say a sheikh is buried there.

Samuels said that as the Wiesenthal Centre holds Associate Partner status at UNESCO, with experience in multifaith conflict resolution, we are "ready to join in a campaign for the protection of such heritage sites." 

For further information contact Dr. Shimon Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).