2010 may be over but the Palestinian campaign to delegitimize Israel and erase the reality of Jewish history in the region continues unabated. In November 2010, an official paper published by the Palestinian Authority claimed that the Western Wall belongs to Muslims and is an integral part of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Haram al-Sharif (the Islamic term for the Temple Mount complex, meaning the Noble Sanctuary).
Now, the latest UK edition of National Geographic magazine includes an advert published by the Palestinian Tourism Ministry, which:
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Implies that Palestine is a country
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Claims that Jerusalem is part of Palestine
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States that “Palestine lies between the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan River”.
Of course, a look at a map of the region will show that the only country that lies in that particular geographic area is… Israel.
The Jerusalem Post reports that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has already received 60 complaints about the advert. This is the same ASA that, in April 2010, ruled against an Israel Government Tourist Office advert, referring to an image of Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Temple Mount that “the photograph featured for Jerusalem was of East Jerusalem” and therefore “the ad misleadingly implied that East Jerusalem was part of the state of Israel.”
Will the ASA also rule against the Palestinian advert? After all, the ad misleadingly implies that Jerusalem is part of Palestine not to mention the claim that this non-existent state covers the area on which the very real state of Israel exists.
If the ASA does not rule against this advert, it will have demonstrated gross hypocrisy in light of its previous ruling and confirmed its bias against Israel.
We await the ruling with interest.
In the meantime, you can make your feelings about this advert known by asking National Geographic magazine how it was allowed to be published in the first place by writing to Elite Publishing, National Geographic Traveler’s UK distributor – [email protected]
You can also submit your own complaint to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority by completing its online complaints form.
Gaza 2011 – Your Next Travel Destination
The Palestinian advert includes reference to Gaza despite the fact that it is now essentially a separate Hamas-run entity that is not exactly open to tourists. Something else misleading for the ASA to ponder.
We are also wondering why tourists would want to visit Gaza, where much of the mainstream media continues to paint a picture of a humanitarian crisis. Unless the reality on the ground is not quite what it seems.
