“The Al Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram al-Sharif, the sacred shrine of the Muslims, is also the Har Habayit – or Temple Mount – the holiest place in Judaism, whose Western Wall is revered by millions across the world, a few steps away from the Saint Sepulchre and the Mount of Olives holy to the Christians,” she said.

Defending the links of all three monotheistic religions to Jerusalem, Bokova told delegates that “to deny, conceal, or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list.”

Last October UNESCO passed a resolution sponsored by Arab states that ignored Jewish and Christian historical ties to Jerusalem holy sites, sparking an outcry in Israel. Bokova subsequently criticized the agency saying, “The heritage of Jerusalem is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship with the city.”

Also in her address, Bokova launched a new policy guide for educators focused on the teaching of the Holocaust, genocide and mass atrocities. “We must empower future generations with the lessons from the Holocaust, equip our children and grandchildren with the tools they need to vanquish intolerance and hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice,” she said.