Jerusalem Old City Ad Campaign Banned by Britain

Image by getty images

By JTA March 4, 2015

Britain’s advertising watchdog has banned an Israeli government tourism ad for showing the Old City of Jerusalem.

The ad inserted in British newspapers showed a view of the Old City of Jerusalem’s walls with the words “Israel has it all” on it.

The Advertising Standards Authority on Wednesday ruled that the ad is misleading since it implies that the Old City of Jerusalem is part of Israel, the French news agency AFP reported. The authority was responding to an official complaint.

The international community does not recognize Israel’s claim over eastern Jerusalem nor does it recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The authority said in its ruling that “the presentation of the ad would mislead consumers into believing that the Old City of Jerusalem was part of Israel and into taking a transactional decision that they would otherwise not have taken.”

The entire brochure in which the Old City photo is found is titled “Israel Land of Creation,” and includes photos of the Muslim holy site the Dome of the Rock and the more modern Western Jerusalem.

The Israeli government told the authority that it did not intend to make a political statement.

The Israeli government “believed the leaflet provided practical information that made clear that visitors to the places referred to in the ad, such as the Old City of Jerusalem, could only be visited via traveling to Israel,” the authority’s ruling said.

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