It was mind-bending! This morning, while listening to public radio station WHYY of Philadelphia, I heard a news announcement which was completely outrageous:
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| HarperCollins map omits Israel (Photo courtesy of The Tablet) |
The map shows all the nations of that region with the exception of Israel which appears nowhere, despite the fact that Israel is an acknowledged geographic, economic, and social entity. It is a nation-state recognized by the United Nations and civilized countries throughout the globe.
In one sense, right-thinking people should not be so surprised by this action, because it is characteristic of a deep human failing: Willfully ignore a person long enough, and that individual ceases to exist in your mind.
Even if one is unable to personally discard another in the physical sense, then one can eliminate people mentally: Pouf! They simply don’t exist anymore.
The acceptance of that false premise has led to an equally false and heinous conclusion with respect to the State of Israel and its inhabitants by some of its undisclosed neighbors within the Gulf region. According to them, Israel is a non-state. Therefore, there is no space for it on the map.
Not all Middle Eastern countries go along with this travesty. Egypt, Israel’s neighbor to the south, and the region’s largest Arab country, as well as Jordan, its closest one to the east – both recognize Israel, having made amends with it long ago.
This story first broke in The Tablet, a Catholic publication in the UK. It was published after an interview with British bishop Declan Lang who denounced the printing of such egregious bias in educational material.
When The Tablet first contacted HarperCollins, it was told “that including Israel in the Middle East Alas would have been ‘unacceptable’ to its customers in the Gulf and that the amendment incorporated ‘local preferences.’”
Subsequently, the news was picked up by other prominent media such as The Washington Post and spread worldwide.
One might ask how, exactly, does a “local preference” by undisclosed Arab states lead to the elimination of another nation-state from the map. And why, one might ask, did a venerable American publishing house such as HarperCollins yield to such blackmail.
In the U.S. at least, you can’t get away with this stuff for long. Now bathed in the cleansing light of a worldwide spotlight, HarperCollins has apologized, has reversed itself, and has removed the Atlas from sale “in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped.”
I wonder how many of those undisclosed anti-Israel countries within the Gulf States will pull that Atlas from their classrooms. What do you think are the odds?
(Click on the image for an enhanced view.)
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