The following is a letter sent out by Rivka Kidron, Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after noticing that the BBC Olympic website omitted Jerusalem’s status as the capital of the State of Israel.
Dear Friends,
It came to our attention that the BBC Olympic website omitted Jerusalem’s status as the capital of the State of Israel. Each country’s profile on the BBC’s 2012 London Olympics website contains basic information, including a map, country capital and picture. Jerusalem was not listed as the capital of Jerusalem. East Jerusalem on the other hand was labeled as the capital of ‘Palestine’.
Mark Regev, the Prime Minister’s Foreign Press Advisor and Spokesman, sent a number of letters to the BBC demanding they correct their website. The BBC subsequently made a number of unsuccessful changes, labeling Jerusalem as Israel’s ‘seat of government’. The changes made to their website are inadequate. Furthermore, the single picture representing Israel on the BBC’s Olympic website is that of an IDF soldier confronting a demonstrator. In contrast, pictures on the country profiles of Iran, Syria and Libya, for example, depict peaceful cultural scenes.
We have opened a Facebook page for this campaign, which will serve this and future campaigns with the object of correcting inaccurate information regarding Jerusalem.
We urge you to support this important campaign by linking to our Facebook page “Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel” and forwarding this link to your distribution lists:
http://www.facebook.com/JerusalemCapitalofIsrael
Additional options and suggestions for supporting this campaign are:
- Tweet supportive messages, including link to Facebook page
- Share the link to the campaign’s Facebook page on your Facebook wall
- Share Mark Regev’s letter to BBC on your Facebook wall (the letter is posted on the campaign’s facebook page)
- Create a short video clip/recorded message expressing your support for the campaign/recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. These can be distributed by you, individually, and/or forwarded to me so I can post it on the government websites and channels and distribute it to other government offices and NGOs
- Write letters in support of our campaign to the BBC
If you have any questions, comments or other suggestions please feel free to contact me. We thank you in advance for your support and friendship.
Sincerely,
Rivka Kidron
Rivka Kidron
Advisor
Prime Minister’s Office
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.