The News Minute | January 1, 2015 | 3.40 PM IST
To cater to their Arab clients, the publishing giant Harper Collins printed atlases that did not show Israel, but showed Gaza and Jordan.
Including Israel would have been “unacceptable” to their customers in the Gulf and the amendment was incorporated to cater the “local preferences,” Collins Bartholomew, the subsidiary of Harper Collins told Daily Mail.
This is despite the fact that Harper Collins’ parent company News Corp’s executive chairman Rupert Murdoch is a staunch Israel supporter.
There was an outrage over the social media following the spread of this news.
Boycott Harper Collins for removing Israel from map. George Orwell endorses this Tweet. #cdnpoli #canada
— Ray Heard (@RayHeard) December 31, 2014Really @HarperCollins, time to wipe your e-booksRT @Jerusalem_Post: Israel wiped off the map in Middle East atlases http://t.co/XLVsgf2KFp
— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) December 31, 2014@PamelaGeller @andilinks That is terrible! #Israel IS on the map so boycott #HarperCollins atlas!
— Juanita McFadden (@JuanitaMcFadden) December 31, 2014However, the publishing house soon reacted saying that the issue was a genuine error.
'HarperCollins regrets the omission of the name Israel from their Collins Middle East Atlas. 'This product has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologizes for this omission and for any offense caused,' the company’s statement said.