July 19, 2017 Press Release Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) offered an amendment during the Appropriations Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2018 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill condemning recent actions by UNESCO to designate the Old City of Hebron and the Tomb of the Patriarchs as part of the Palestinian territory. The amendment was agreed to by the Committee by voice vote."The recent action by UNESCO on Hebron is yet another anti-Israel measure that denies facts and only continues an abhorrent pattern of behavior from this organization," said Rep. Calvert. "Steps to refute Jewish connections to historical sites only move us further away from peaceful and sustainable solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian people and their allies in the Arab world simply cannot continue to say they support a two-state solution while simultaneously undercutting the process with punitive actions like this and expect the world to believe them." UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is a cultural agency within the United Nations. In 2011, in compliance with statutory funding restrictions, the United States stopped funding UNESCO, due to the committee's recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state and their admittance as a member-state. According to the State Department, while the United States is still on the 58-member UNESCO Executive Board, it no longer has voting rights in the UNESCO General Conference.The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron is one of the holiest sites for the Jewish people. The patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah – are buried at the site.The amendment by Rep. Calvert added the following language to the report:"The Committee notes with disappointment decision 41 COM 8C.1 adopted by UNESCO on July 7, 2017, which is one-sided, runs contrary to history, and is not conducive towards peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians." ###