When People Who Know Better Say Tel Aviv is Israel’s Capital
Ellie Geranmayeh, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, is the second observer of international affairs in recent days whose fancy title didn’t stop her from misidentifying Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital in a leading American newspaper.
Referring to the capitals of Iran, the U.S and Israel, respectively, Geranmayeh writes today in The New York Times (“Political sabotage over a deal with Iran“): “Spoilers have been striking from Tehran, Washington and Tel Aviv.” (Emphasis added.)
In The International New York Times, the mischaracterization of Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital is highlighted in a pull quote.
Further on in the Op-Ed, Geranmayeh repeats the erroneous reference to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, stating: “The results of the Israeli elections could deflate Tel Aviv’s fierce opposition to current negotiations with Iran.”
Earlier this month it was Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, who was also in a position to know exactly where the seat of Israel’s government is. Nevertheless, he wrote in a Jan. 15 Op-Ed in The Los Angeles Times (“The Palestinians’ decision to join the ICC deserves support“):
In Washington, Ottawa, Paris and London, as well as in Tel Aviv, the response [to the Palestinians’ move to join the International Criminal Court] has ranged from discouraging to condemnatory.
Following communication from CAMERA, Los Angeles Times editors commendably published the following correction Jan. 22:
Israel: A Jan 15 OpEd about the Palestinians’ move to join the International Criminal Court implied that Tel Aviv is the seat of the Israeli government. The government is based in Jerusalem.
The New York Times itself in the past has previously corrected this point. The Nov. 22, 2002 correction stated:
An article yesterday about a man accused of having tried to hijack an El Al plane en route to Istanbul from Tel Aviv referred incorrectly to Tel Aviv. It is not he capital of Israel; Jerusalem is.
CAMERA has sent a request to Times editors that they again correct.
If Roth and Geranmayeh freely misrepresent a fact as basic as the location of Israel’s capital in order to suit their political agendas, what else are the supposed experts on international affairs distorting?
More from SNAPSHOTS
Why Does a NY Times Journalist Want to Suppress an Anti-Hamas Article?
May 29, 2018
A New York Times journalist thinks the Wall Street Journal shouldn't have published an opinion piece criticizing Hamas's anti-Israel propaganda campaign. The reporter, Declan Walsh, is one of the Times reporters who has covered the [...]
Iran is Funding Hamas’s Violent ‘Protests’ at the Border, Media M.I.A.
May 22, 2018
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini The Islamic Republic of Iran is behind the recent Hamas-orchestrated violent demonstrations—dubbed the “March of Return”—at the Israel-Gaza border, according to Israeli authorities. Yet many major U.S. news outlets [...]
Are Gaza Gunmen “Protesters”? NY Times Refuses to Say
May 21, 2018
After repeatedly insisting that "Israeli soldiers killed 60 protesters" during clashes last Monday, May 14, the New York Times is refusing to clarify whether its count of supposed protesters includes the eight armed Hamas fighters [...]
Bahrain Says Israel Has a Right to Self-Defense, and the Media Shrugs
May 15, 2018
Bahrain's Foreign Minister and then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry The foreign minister of the Arab nation of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid al-Khaalifa declared on May 10, 2018 that Israel has a right to defend itself. [...]
AFP Captions Call Jerusalem Parade Participants Settlers
May 15, 2018
Numerous Agence France-Presse photo captions generalized all participants in Sunday's Jerusalem Flag Parade as "settlers," despite the fact that the crowd hailed from across Israel, within the Green Line, as well as outside. A sampling [...]
Journalist: Hezbollah Shows ‘More Maturity’ Than Israel
May 9, 2018
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah A Los Angeles Times special correspondent, Nabih Bulos, declared on Twitter on May 7, 2018, that Hezbollah (“Party of God”) shows “more maturity” than Israel. Hezbollah is a Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed, [...]