UPDATE 2
The Independent has followed Statista’s lead and updated the infographic.
UPDATE
Credit to Statista for responding positively to HonestReporting’s request. The Palestinian flag attributed to “Palestine” has now been changed to a British flag representing Mandatory Palestine.
Still no change, however, on The Independent’s infographic despite the assurance of Statista’s staff that the media outlet would be informed of the correction. Just how difficult is it to re-embed the updated image?
* * *
The Independent’s Indy100 commemorates the 76th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain by including an infographic of the different nationalities of those pilots who fought for the Royal Air Force against the Nazis.
It includes one pilot from “Palestine” represented by the flag of what most readers would associate with the modern Palestinian Authority or Palestinian national movement.
Except that in 1941, “Palestine” was actually British Mandate Palestine and the flag in the infographic represented not the British administration but the Arab nationalists fighting against the British (and the Jewish community).
Moreover, the pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain alluded to in the infographic as a Palestinian was one George Goodman, whose background is explained on the Battle of Britain Memorial website:
At the end of the classic film The Battle of Britain there is a list of the nationalities of the participating Allied airmen. Included is the suggestion that one Israeli took part. Given that the State of Israel was not founded until 1948 this cannot be true. Other lists show not an Israeli but a Palestinian. This is also false.
In each case, it would appear that the man being referred to is Pilot Officer George Ernest Goodman, who flew Hurricanes in the Battle with No 1 Squadron. Some sources specifically show him as Palestinian.
In fact Goodman held British nationality and could have shown any doubter a British passport and birth certificate. He was killed in action in 1941 and the suggestion that he did not die fighting for his own country has distressed members of his family ever since.
The misconception about George Goodman’s nationality arises from the fact that he was born in the port of Haifa on October 8 1920. The family was based there because Goodman’s father was working as an official of Palestine Railway. His career would later take him to Nigeria.
At the time the area, up to that point a part of Ottoman Southern Syria, was coming under British civilian rule and plans were in hand for the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine which took effect in 1922.
Wikipedia (although not always a completely reliable source of information) states that Goodman’s mother was a “Turkish national of Jewish descent.”
Whether Goodman could be described as British or even Jewish, one thing is for certain – he was not a “Palestinian” and the flag used in the infographic above is inaccurate historically, geographically and in relation to Goodman’s nationality.
We’ve contacted both The Independent and the Statista organization that supplied the infographic, asking for a correction. Watch this space.
