Jerusalem (AFP)
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Saturday welcomed Unesco's decision to remove the Belgian carnival of Aalst, accused of anti-Semitism, from its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
He called on the Belgian government to raise its voice against the carnival, after the presence, during the last edition in March, of a cart caricaturing orthodox Jews with hooked noses, seated on bags of gold.
"I welcome the moral and principled decision to remove the Aalst carnival from UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity," said Katz in a statement.
"In the 21st century, as anti-Semitism shows its ugly face again, there can be no tolerance for this hideous phenomenon," he added.
"We expect the Belgian government to speak out clearly (...) against the inclusion of anti-Semitic media during the carnival."
Listed in 2010 on the UNESCO list, the carnival, which takes place in Flanders, was withdrawn on Friday during a meeting of the organization in Bogota, Colombia.
"Unesco is faithful to its founding principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect between peoples and condemns all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia," said the organization, announcing its decision.
It is the first time that Unesco has removed the list of intangible cultural heritage.
© 2019 AFP