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The Times Misplaces Judaism’s Holiest Site

UPDATE The Times has amended the caption, which now reads: Naftali Bennett visits the Western Wall during a tour in Jerusalem’s old city * * * It’s an all too common error that appears…

Simon Plosker
January 26, 2016
12:00 am

Reading time: 2 minutes

UPDATE

The Times has amended the caption, which now reads:

Naftali Bennett visits the Western Wall during a tour in Jerusalem’s old city

* * *

It’s an all too common error that appears in far too many media outlets. The Times of London (subscription only) has published the following photo caption:

Naftali Bennett visits the Western Wall, Judaism [sic] holiest site, during a tour in Jerusalem’s old city

The Western Wall is not the holiest site in Judaism. It is, in fact, the Temple Mount. The Western Wall is the closest site that Jews can pray to the site of the destroyed ancient temples and is a part of a retaining wall of the structure of the Second Temple.

Aside from the The Times’s caption being factually inaccurate, it is important to ensure that the correct and accurate information is out there particularly at a time when Israel’s enemies are attempting to delegitimize the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

HonestReporting has contacted The Times to request a correction. Watch this space.

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Tags: distorted facts, Judaism's holiest site, success, Temple Mount, The Times of London, Western Wall

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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