Mediaite - BBC Defends Refusal To List Jerusalem As Israeli Capital In Olympic Coverage; Athletes, Government Angrily Respond

By Noah Rothman, Mediaite.com

The British Broadcasting Corporation is coming under fire on Monday from Israel’s Prime Minister and Olympic athletes after the organization refused to list Jerusalem as the nation’s capital but noted that East Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian territories. The BBC corrected their original entry, but still do not list Israel’s “capital” as Jerusalem. In a statement provided to Mediaite, the BBC has issued a defense of their updated Olympic facts page for Israel and affirmed their position as an unbiased news organization. . . .

Since 1950, Israel’s formal capital has been the city of Jerusalem. Other news organizations covering the Olympics, such as NBC, have unequivocally listed Jerusalem as the nation’s capital. . . .

According to the American Center for Law and Justice, the BBC has a history of sensitivity towards the dispute over Jerusalem’s official status. In 2007, after referring to the city as Israel’s capital, BBC offered a retraction and apology to Palestine for their “factual mistake.” . . .

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