UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo: Alchetron.

JNS.org – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed his recognition of Judaism’s historic ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount last week, during a meeting with World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald Lauder in New York.

The meeting took place just hours after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) debated its controversial Agenda Item 7, which makes alleged Israeli “human rights abuses” a permanent discussion item.

The WJC released a statement affirming the secretary-general reiterated comments similar to those he had previously made on Israeli radio, in which he said, “It is completely clear the Temple that the Romans destroyed in Jerusalem was a Jewish temple.”

During the meeting, Lauder expressed frustration regarding the UNHRC’s “obscene” bias against Israel. “The UN was built on the broken bones of the Jewish people after World War II…It is an institution dedicated to making sure that what happened in the Holocaust never happens again,” he said, adding, “So it is particularly outrageous that the UN has been hijacked by Israel’s enemies to delegitimize the Jewish state.”

The WJC also noted that Guterres is committed to curtailing biased anti-Israel pronouncements at the UNHRC, but stopped short of making a vow to prevent anti-Israel resolutions from passing in the council.