Why Harper Collins Wiped Israel Off The Map

[oberliner]

It might seem like an accusation from a satirical right wing news show, but last week reports emerged that Harper Collins had wiped Israel off the map—literally. It turns out that Israel had been simply omitted from English-language atlases produced by the publishing giant for use by schools in the Middle East. The position of the West Bank was noted, but otherwise Jordan and Syria were shown extending all the way to the Mediterranean.

This was no oversight; the elimination of Israel was a carefully thought-out move. Collins Bartholomew, the subsidiary that produced the atlases, explained that the amendment to the maps was intended to accommodate “local preferences.” The inclusion of Israel, they told The Tablet, would have been “unacceptable” to their customers.

There is already a feeling among many Israelis and pro-Israel parties that the international community, especially the UN, is antagonistic toward the Jewish state. The production by an international publishing conglomerate of a map in which Israel ostensibly no longer exists would only confirm those suspicions. Also, the figurative eradication of one of the most politically charged nations in the world could threaten the real-world existence of the state of Israel.

There is a real possibility that such an atlas, though intended to appease the sensibilities of Israel’s neighbors, might in fact have far-reaching, negative real-world repercussions. A generation raised on the belief that Israel is an illegitimate state would not have to rely merely on the strident language of their political and religious leadership. They would now be able to point to an “objective” source, one that was even produced in the Western world. Harper Collins’s decision may have been good for their bottom line in the short term, but in the long run it would only be detrimental for the stability of the Middle East.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/11/why-harper-collins-wiped-israel-off-the-map.html

[Mike Nelson]

1. Not buying HarperCollins books.

They lie.

[COLGATE4]

2. Pandering in the worst sense of the word. nt

[BillZBubb]

3. Someone at Harper Collins is VERY DUMB.

Whoever approved that map should be fired.

If I spent money on an Atlas and it wasn't accurate, I'd be very upset and demand a refund.

But, this doesn't rise to the level of threatening the stability of the Middle East. There is no stability in the Middle East to threaten.

[oberliner]

4. It was deliberately and knowingly published with inaccurate information

It wasn't a careless error due to being dumb. It was a calculated decision to appeal to their target audience who preferred their books to be printed that way (sans Israel).

[BillZBubb]

7. It was a dumb decision.

I never suggested a careless error.

[oberliner]

8. "If I spent money on an Atlas and it wasn't accurate, I'd be very upset and demand a refund. "

Many of the people to whom this book was being sold would be "very upset and demand a refund" if they found their atlas had a country called Israel identified as such.

If making sure your customers don't get upset and demand refunds is an intelligent thing to do as a publisher, than their behavior was not particularly dumb - it seems to make sense.

[thucythucy]

5. Wasn't it HarperCollins that was planning to publish OJ Simpson's

book on how he would have committed the murders, "If I had"?

[oberliner]

6. This is the book you mean, I believe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Did_It

[thucythucy]

9. Yup, that's the none. Nt.