A recent Washington Post report on a Syrian ceasefire brokered by the US and Russia included a reference to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital.
The reference is actually an unfair example of synecdoche, which is a literary device in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. Think “boots on the ground” referring to soldiers or “Downing Street” referring to the UK Prime Minister’s office.
In the case of the Washington Post, however, Tel Aviv is not Israel’s capital.
After we contacted the editors, the paper revised the reference.
As Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai confirmed to HonestReporting what should be self-evident, “There is one thing which Tel Aviv is not, and this is the capital of Israel.”
