UNESCO Did Not Remove the Birthplace of Jesus from its World Heritage Sites
The Claim
UNESCO has removed the birthplace of Jesus, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem Palestine, from the World Heritage Site list.
News posted on
Emerging story
An image of a headline circulating particularly on Facebook reveals a recent decision by UNESCO. The headline reads, “UN cultural agency removes birthplace of Jesus from its list of heritage sites.” Users claim that UNESCO removed the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestine, from World Heritage sites. With many expressing their unhappiness at the decision.
Misbar’s Analysis
If you search the World Heritage List, you will see that "Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the nativity and the pilgrimage route, Bethlehem," is still on the list.
The list also shows the delisted sites. The actual headline of a July 2019 press release from the United Nations says: "UN cultural agency removes birthplace of Jesus from its list of heritage sites in danger."
The image used in the claim is doctored and deliberately excludes the last two words "in danger" from the headline resulting in the spread of misinformation. Sites in danger are under threat due to poaching, pollution, armed conflicts, or natural disasters and require attention for protection.
Given the surrounding context, the Misbar team rates the circulating false, the Church of the Nativity is still on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list, and there are no plans to remove it.
