US Senators Tour Jerusalem’s City of David

The Fellowship  |  March 21, 2017

Last year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved a resolution that denied any Jewish ties to the Temple Mount. Today, The Jerusalem Post’s Daniel K. Eisenbud reports, American members of Congress – who stood with Israel – and U.N. ambassadors who didn’t support the anti-Israel legislation were treated to a private tour of the City of David:

The resolution, which refers to the Temple Mount solely by its Muslim name of Al-Haram Al-Sharif – ostensibly eliminating its connection to Judaism and Christianity – was approved by the committee comprised of 21 member states at its 40th session in Paris last October.

On Tuesday, Barkat, David Be’eri, director and founder of the City of David Foundation, and Carmel Shama Hacohen, Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO, showed the ambassadors the remains of the Shiloah Pool and numerous archaeological findings from the City of David.

Last week, Be’eri was declared the 2017 Israel Prize laureate, one of the nation’s highest honors.

“These findings strongly contradict UNESCO’s claims that deny the historical connection between the Jewish people and the Christian world to the Land of Israel,” said Barkat, who did not disclose the identities of the ambassadors.

“The coin you see in my hands, found in the City of David excavations, is emblazoned with the inscription ‘For the Liberation of Zion.’ This coin is one of thousands that we find at our feet which unequivocally prove the Jewish and Christian roots in Jerusalem, contrary to the claims made by the latest UNESCO resolution.”

Barkat continued: “Today, we work to fulfill the imperative emblazoned on the coin: Jerusalem, under Israeli sovereignty, is free and open to people of all religions, beliefs and backgrounds.”

Over the weekend, US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and James Lankford (R-OK), both members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, stopped in Israel during their Middle East tour to also visit the City of David for a private tour…