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January 26, 2012

Israel Wiped Off Middle East Map

middle east sans Israel.jpg
Map is for illustrative purposes only. It was not published in the Times.

The New York Times website and the International Herald Tribune are reporting that the Middle East "is on the cusp of creating its own Silicon Valley experience."

The story, "Entrepreneurial Spirit Awaits Its Moment in the Middle East" by Dania Saadi, states that "International investor interest in start-ups in the Middle East came to the fore in 2009 when Yahoo spent $164 million to buy Maktoob.com, an Arabic content portal based in Jordan."

This is exciting news. Maybe one day the Middle East will resemble the geographic region where Israel can be found.

Posted by GI at January 26, 2012 05:02 PM

Comments

If there was a map, it's gone now.

Posted by: Joshua at January 26, 2012 05:24 PM

israel had been driven into the sea.

Posted by: s cohen at January 26, 2012 06:03 PM

Looks like Israel did not disappear. It somehow moved West and turned slightly. I wonder how they managed to do that.

Posted by: Dan Loeb at January 26, 2012 11:32 PM

Only in 2009? No high tech start ups in Israel before that? Or as the map indicates Israel is not part of the middle east.

Posted by: JohnTor at January 27, 2012 03:44 PM

A clarification, since this post caused a bit of confusion: the image above is illustrative and tongue-in-cheek. It did not come from the newspaper.

The point of the post is that the New York Times, which prides itself on precision and language unskewed by partisan considerations, here reports on the Middle East as if Israel is not part of the region.

When they say the Middle East may *soon* have a tech industry and an entrepreneurial spirit, they are of course flatly wrong. Israel's technological innovation and success in the region is a big story, especially in light of the fact that they are part of the Middle East, lacking natural resources and surrounded by enemies. This story conceals that fact, and, by choosing to use the term "Middle East" (instead of, say, "the Arab world") misinforms readers.

Yes, some of Israel's neighbors boycott exchanges with the country, argue that the country is an artificial implant in the region, and withhold recognition. They view the Middle East as as rightfully wholly Arab. New York Times reporting is not meant to reinforce those arguments.

To be sure, this is far from the worst thing the newspaper has done. But Israel is part of the Middle East, and the Times needs to report as such.

Posted by: GI at January 30, 2012 11:07 AM

I'd LOVE to get a copy of this map. It would be great to post on my office wall and see who notices the changes. BRAVO!!!

Posted by: ben n at January 30, 2012 04:11 PM

The most remarkable thing about the map, is that they endowed Jordan with a sea coast on the Mediterranean Sea.
Innovative.

Posted by: David J., Long Island, NY at February 2, 2012 07:55 PM

I am not sure I understand the gist of this issue but the map, I believe is British stemming from when the region was known as TransJordan and ruled by the Brits from 1920 to 1948. King Abdullah, the one the Palestinians assassinated, hoped that this might become his realm. Don't tell me they have given up on the 1967 boundaries already and are going even more retro? The Islamists might try anything to extinguish the hope of any non-Muslim entity aspring to self-rule and equality in the "caliphate".

Posted by: terry staub at February 3, 2012 12:42 PM

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