Ha’aretz Translators Can’t Tell Jewish Agency from WZO
Ha’aretz‘s notorious English translators have blown it once again. Editors were compelled to print a correction today regarding a page-one headline and article, the latest instance of “Ha’aretz, Lost in Translation.” The page-two correction reads:
There was a translation error on yesterday’s front page: in the article, “The Jewish Agency Settlement Department’s bloated budget,” the department referred to belongs to the World Zionist Organization and not the Jewish Agency. We apologize for the mistake.
Here is yesterday’s front-page with the erroneous headline and article:
The erroneous reference to the Jewish Agency, as opposed to the World Zionist Organization, also appeared on Ha’aretz‘s Facebook page and Twitter feed:
The text of the print edition article also erred, confusing the Jewish Agency for the World Zionist Organization:
The Jewish Agency Settlement Department’s annual spending is several times higher than its original budget, Haaretz has learned. In recent years the government has transferred additional funds to the Settlement Department ranging from several dozen million shekels to hundreds of millions.
The department is funded and directed by the government, despite being formally part of the Jewish Agency. . . .
When Ha’aretz launched its new digital platforms last year, publisher Amos Schocken promised readers “accurate and comprehensive news coverage, analyses and commentary on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.”
Ha’aretz translators, who can’t tell the Jewish Agency from the World Zionist Organization, do not deliver accurate coverage of the Jewish world, Israel or the Middle East. Rather than once again treating the symptom with a correction, isn’t it high time that Ha’aretz get to the root of the problem by holding its translators accountable? If reporters are named (and shamed) in corrections when they err, why aren’t translators?
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