Corrected: The Palestinian “Ambassador” to the US

The US doesn't recognize a Palestinian state. HonestReporting gets the correction after The Independent erroneously refers to the PLO's representative to the US as "Ambassador."

By November 30, 2017

It’s an error that has increasingly appeared in mainstream media outlets: upgrading Palestinian diplomatic delegations to embassy and ambassador level in countries that don’t recognize a Palestinian state.

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As recently as the beginning of this month, HonestReporting achieved numerous corrections after media referenced a Palestinian “Ambassador” in the UK, including from the Daily Mail, Times of London and Daily Telegraph.

So it’s disappointing that The Independent, which also made a correction that day, repeated the error, this time with references to a Palestinian “Ambassador” to the US:

Not even Zomlot’s own Twitter feed describes himself as “Ambassador”:

We contacted The Independent and the text in the story was corrected, now referring to the “Head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s General Delegation to the US, Husam Zomlot.”

In addition, the sub-header was changed from a capitalized “Ambassador” to lower-case “ambassador.” While the amendment may appear subtle, it is nonetheless important as it changes the emphasis from an official title to the generic definition of a representative.

Thank you to The Independent for making those corrections.

© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025

Simon Plosker

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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