Spot the improper noun in this Reuters caption:
A Palestinian boy stands among vendors in Jerusalem’s Old City June 4, 2007. Forty years ago this week, Israel swept to victory in six days in a war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan, capturing the Sinai peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip and West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem. Arab East Jerusalem is still the subject of deep divisions among Israelis, Palestinians and the international community. Picture taken June 4, 2007. REUTERS/Yonathan Weitzman (JERUSALEM)
The term “??Arab” implies that parts of Jerusalem are inherently “??Arab.” And East with a capital E makes the term a proper noun, suggesting two officially separate municipalities. Since when is the word “east” anything but a descriptive reference when it comes to Jerusalem? Up to 1948, Arabs and Jews lived in a unified city that made no distinctions between “East” and “??West.”? As Mitch Bard points out:
The only time that the eastern part of Jerusalem was exclusively Arab was between 1949 and 1967, and that was because Jordan occupied the area and forcibly expelled all the Jews.
Reuters makes similar references to “Arab East Jerusalem” in other photos including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, as well as photos from Israeli archives like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, even this icon image.
