Pro-Palestinian Authority groups and the Syrian embassy were angered by Israeli tourism posters in the London subway system which showed the Jewish State as one contiguous territory including Gaza, Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights.
The Israeli Government Tourism Office gave in to their pressure and promised to discontinue the ad campaign while also apologizing for the “mistake.”
The posters painted Israel as a tourist’s dream with the “energy and excitement of Tel Aviv and the rich cultural experiences of the Dead Sea and Jerusalem with the sun and relaxation of Eilat.”
However a yellow map on the side of the poster did not delineate the Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981, while Judea, Samaria, and Gaza were not named and their locations were bordered by only a small white line.
Pro-Palestinian Authority groups and the Syrian embassy were angered by the poster and lodged complaints with Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority and Transport for London, responsible for running the subway system.
The Israeli Tourism Ministry gave in to the pressure and said it would discontinue the ad campaign and take down signs which had already been posted over the next few weeks.
Oren Drori from the ministry called the posters a “professional mistake” and said that maps should not be used to advertise tourism in any country, while spokeswoman Shira Kazeh said the ministry has tried not to “mix politics and tourism.”