Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has launched an investigation into an advertisement published in National Geographic's Traveler Magazine that implies that 'Palestine' runs from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Similar complaints have been filed against Israel in the past by the 'Palestinians' and their supporters. It will be interesting to see whether 'Palestine' is similarly forced to withdraw its advertisements.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media, told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that in the last few days it had received 60 complaints about the advert – published by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, “the official website for tourism in Palestine” – which appeared in National Geographic’s Traveller magazine.
“I can confirm that the ASA has received 60 complaints about the Travel Palestine ad that appeared in the National Geographic magazine,” an ASA spokesman told the Post. “I can also confirm that the ASA has launched a formal investigation into the ad.”
According to the ad, “Palestine lies between the Mediterranean coast and Jordan River, at the crossroads between Africa and Middle East.”
“If you consult the map of this region you will see that this is like describing Portugal as lying between the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean,” said London lawyer David Lewis in a letter to the ASA. “At the very least it implies that ‘Palestine’ has a Mediterranean coastline; but while this is true as regards to Gaza, that territory is not within the de facto jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.“More seriously, it implies that Palestine occupies the whole or the bulk of the territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, ignoring the existence of Israel.”
Note:
This is quite interesting, considering that the U.K. had objected to Israel's travel advertisements less than one year ago. Israel's tourism guides had included the Western Wall/Kotel as part of Israel's ad for tourism and the U.K objected to the advertisement. It appears that no matter how or who writes about Israel these days, the wish is to exclude Israels from their land and replace it with Arab Palestinians. (see below).
Advertising Standards Authority bans Wailing Wall from Israel advertisements
It is the holiest site in Judaism; the most familiar view of Jerusalem. It is how every tourist imagines the Western Wall (the ‘Kotel’ or ‘Wailing Wall’), with the gleaming gold of the Dome of the Rock perched above it. It lures them to pilgrimage to ‘The Holy Land’, to the centre of the three great Abrahamic faiths.
But this image of Jerusalem is now banned in the UK. Never again can it be used to promote a holiday to Israel.
Yes, the ASA have instructed the Israeli Government Tourist Office that they may no longer use the image in their promotional literature.
There were no scantily-clad children inadvertently featured; no topless women; no racially-offensive language; no incitement to ‘religious hatred’; no plumes of smoke from cancer-inducing cigarettes; no glorification of mephedrone or other illicit activity.
There was simply the Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the blue sky. ... more
