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Telegraph Implies Tel Aviv is Israel’s Capital

How many times does the UK media need to be reminded that Tel Aviv is not the capital of Israel? A story in the Daily Telegraph on U.S. President Obama’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu contains…

Simon Plosker
March 4, 2014
12:00 am

Reading time: 2 minutes

How many times does the UK media need to be reminded that Tel Aviv is not the capital of Israel? A story in the Daily Telegraph on U.S. President Obama’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu contains the following paragraph:

Israel’s parliament, foreign ministry and most other organs of government are based in Jerusalem, not Tel Aviv. Would the Telegraph refer to “New York” or “Manchester” when talking about U.S. administration or UK government activities respectively? Of course not.

While the Telegraph may not want to go as far as to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s legitimate capital, it may wish to consider that the UK’s Press Complaints Commission has already ruled on this very issue after HonestReporting took action in 2012 against The Guardian for declaring Tel Aviv as the Israeli capital.

A complaint has been sent to the Telegraph reminding it of the PCC ruling. Watch this space.

UPDATE

The Daily Telegraph has updated its article, which now reads:

▶ A Picture May Speak 1,000 Words—but What if Those Words Are Lies?

Israel at War: The Media Battlefield – Briefing #46

Media Celebrate Images by Photographers With Unethical Ties to Hamas

▶ The Merneptah Stele – History in Stone!

▶ Syrian Druze to Israel: “Take Us In”

Tags: success

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020. Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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