HarperCollins Erases Israel, Then Corrects
HarperCollins, a venerable publisher of Atlases, erased Israel from the map of the Middle East in a school edition it sold to English-language schools in the Middle East. Although HarperCollins executives acted swiftly to correct the error, troubling questions remain about this incident.
Most reports indicate that it was the intercession of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales that prompted HarperCollins to act. According to these reports, the bishops’ warning that omission of Israel was “harmful to peace efforts in the Middle East” prompted the publisher to pulp any existing unsold copies and correct the error for any new printings.
What if it had been Jewish or Israeli groups that objected? Would Harper Collins have reacted the same way? What about the publisher’s adherence to the integrity of the product that should have prevented the omission from occurring in the first place. Israel’s existence is a geographical fact. Acknowledging the material presence of the Jewish state is not a statement of support for it or its government.
After this exposure, can HarperCollins’ atlases – and other reference books it publishes – be trusted? Purchasers of HarperCollins books have to worry that other books published by HarperCollins have had factual material expunged because it was deemed politically inconvenient.
It is also notable that these atlases were English-language versions, raising the question of which students were intended to use the books. Are they the children of Arab elites who interact on a global scale with westerners? Was the atlas intended for the children of westerners residing for diplomatic and commercial purposes in Arab countries?
Because HarperCollins was forthcoming and acted swiftly, the controversy will fade quickly. But should it? How many other examples of denying Israel’s existence remain in schoolbooks provided by western publishers?
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