In effect, HarperCollins achieved what the former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened at the stroke of a pen: wiped Israel off the map,” wrote Brummer.īrummer pointed to the “strenuous tests for accuracy and legality which publishers go through before releasing any book”, concluding that the choice to exclude Israel must have been “a deliberate decision taken by the publishers purely for commercial reasons”. “The offending map shows the West Bank marked immediately adjacent to the Gaza strip as if Israel did not exist. HarperCollins sincerely apologises for this omission and for any offence caused,” said the publisher.īut the map continues to draw censure, with Dr Jane Clements, director of the Council of Christians and Jews, telling the Tablet that “maps can be a very powerful tool in terms of de-legitimising ‘the other’ and can lead to confusion rather than clarity”, and calling for all atlases to “reflect the official UN position on nations, boundaries and all political features”.Īlex Brummer – a journalist, HarperCollins author and vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews – called the decision to print a map without including Israel “outrageous”. “This product has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has now issued a statement on its Facebook page, saying that it “regrets the omission of the name Israel from their Collins Middle East Atlas”.

A lot of Middle Eastern countries do not like USA, why not leave it out of the map? This map is completely trash.” Another added: “Geography is about accuracy, not political views or opinions.

In fact, let’s all design our own maps of the world and leave out all the countries we don’t particularly care for,” wrote one reader. “Way to go Collins! While we’re at it, let’s delete Sweden from the map of Europe, Venezuela from the map of South America, and Russia entirely. Customers on Amazon expressed their anger with a slew of almost 150 one-star reviews. The discovery has prompted widespread criticism, with Bishop Declan Lang telling the Catholic weekly that the atlas “will confirm Israel’s belief that there exists a hostility towards their country from parts of the Arab world”, and “will not help to build up a spirit of trust leading to peaceful coexistence”. HarperCollins subsidiary Collins Bartholomew told the Tablet last week that the decision to exclude Israel reflected “local preferences”, and that including Israel in the atlas would have been “unacceptable” to its Gulf customers. Lake Urmia (in the far-northwest) is the country's largest body of water.Not the best laid plan … detail from a map in HarperCollins’ children’s Middle East Atlas Photograph: PR The most significant river is the Karun, in the southwestern corner of the country. The coastal areas outside the mountain rings have some of the lowest elevations in the country.

Marked on the map, the Dasht-e Kavir is sandstone and salty desert plateau, which in the heat of summer is one of the hottest places on the planet. The central and eastern portion is covered by the Plateau of Iran. It has been marked on the map by a yellow triangle and is part of the Elburz Mountain chain. Of note are the Elburz Mountains in the north, and the Zagros Mountains along Iran's western borders as observed on the physical map of Iran above. The mountain ranges surround the high interior basin of the country. Iran is a very rugged country of plateaus and mountains with most of the land being above 1,500 feet (460 m). Iran is a sovereign nation occupying an area of 1,648,195 sq.

Map of middle east and israel