Israel. On the map?
Photo: Visual/photos
Is Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel or Palestine?
Israeli passenger on Royal Jordanian airline complains Israel not marked on map distributed to all passengers on airline flights, and even claims on one map 'Palestine' listed instead of Israel. Royal Jordanian manager in Israel: Palestine not mentioned on either map, but we will make sure Israel listed on future maps
At the beginning of the week, L. returned from Bangkok to Tel Aviv. Like hundreds of other Israelis, he flew on Royal Jordanian airlines. The flight was uneventful and the view from the plane window was like the view on any other plane, however the information pamphlet distributed to all the passengers disturbed L.
"During the flight I flipped through the official magazine of the airline called Royal Wings," said L. "The magazine includes maps detailing the flight paths of the Jordanian company and displays the names of major countries and cities.
"I looked for our tiny country and I found that on one map the name of Israel wasn't listed, and on another map was the name Palestine. The city of Tel Aviv was listed on both the maps, even if only because it is on their list of destinations to which the airline flies," said L. According to him, this could anger every Israeli sitting on the plane.
"It’s clear to me that I won't turn the Jordanians into Zionists," concluded L. "But I would expect a Jordanian state company, whose leaders signed a peace agreement and whose planes transport no small amount of Israelis, to behave differently. Personally, I won't fly with this airline anymore, and I think that if other Israelis follow suit, maybe the treatment will change."
Following his complaint to the Royal Jordanian airline, Devorah Brookstein, manager of the company in Israel, performed an extensive check of the issue and found, according to her, that Tel Aviv and Haifa are prominently listed on the two maps along with other cities in the Middle East and that "there is no mention of the state of Palestine as was reported in the complaint."
L. insists: "That's not true. On one map neither Israel nor Palestine is listed, and on the other map only the word Palestine is noted and not Israel."
"It is important for me to note," continued Brookstein, "that the magazine Royal Wngs that is distributed to all passengers of Royal Jordanian, is published in London without our, the Israeli contingent of the company, control over what is printed in it. Despite this, we will turn to higher-ups in the company so that Israel will be demarcated on the map included in the next edition of the magazine."
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Elana Ravid reported that the ministry wasn't aware of the issue. "We will look into the issue, and if the claims are found to be true," said Ravid, "we will turn to the Jordanians."
The Israeli Tourism Ministry wished not to respond.
