A world globe sold in Cotton On’s Typo stores “wiped Israel off the map”.
RETAIL giant Cotton On has come under fire for selling a globe of the Earth with Israel wiped off the map and ‘Palestine’ in its place.
The globes, sold in Cotton On’s Typo stationery outlets, have been described as “hurtful” and “bigoted” by members of Australia’s Jewish community.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, chair of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League, told news.com.au when a customer initially complained about the globes, he was told the map was “deemed to be accurate for commercial purposes”.
“They came up with the ridiculous argument that they didn’t have enough space to put the word ‘Israel’ but had enough space to put ‘Palestine’, which is a non-existent country,” he said.
Dr Abramovich said there was a “growing and disturbing trend of wiping Israel off world maps”. “These acts of hostility have become so frequent I don’t think it’s simply a mistake,” he said.
“There is a well organised international effort to delegitimise and demonise Israel, to imagine a world without Israel, to make it such a pariah state that it doesn’t even have a right to exist on a map.
“Yes, it’s symbolic, but it carries significant consequences. In the minds of many it sends a message that Israel is not a member of the family of nations. It’s hurtful, it’s damaging and it hinders reconciliation.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich.Source:Supplied
He said there had been similar recent incidents.
One involved an atlas produced by Harper Collins for the Middle East market, and another involved a map displayed at a conference hosted by the government’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
“The argument [from Harper Collins] that including Israel on the atlas would be unacceptable to its clients in the Gulf only lends credence to arguments that Israel is an illegitimate state,” Dr Abramovich said.
“It also teaches the next generation that Israel does not have a right to exist.”
He said Harper Collins amended the maps after pressure from the ADL.
Cotton On says the product has been removed from sale in all 170 Typo stores globally and online. It says since the globes have been removed from sale, other customers have complained believing Israel now replaces Palestine.
The company says this is “incorrect”, and that both countries were represented on the original globe — Israel via a ‘key’ — and both will remain on the new globe.
GLOBES RECALLED
In a statement, a Cotton On spokeswoman said: “After receiving customer feedback regarding the representation of countries on our Typo world globe, the decision was made to halt production and immediately remove the product from sale.
“We’ve confirmed that we will not be reproducing the globes until our supplier finds artwork that represents all countries on the map and therefore eliminate the need for a key,” the spokeswoman said.
“As previously indicated, Typo regrets any offence caused by the product and we reiterate that the brand has no political agenda.”
It’s not the first time a map has caused headaches for a big company. Over New Year, Coca-Cola managed to anger both Russia and Ukraine over a major map faux pas.
In a festive message on social media, Coca-Cola included a map of Russia which excluded Crimea — the Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014 — prompting outrage.
But when the company reissued the map with Crimea included, it sparked similar outrage in Ukraine, where social media users called for a boycott. The post was eventually removed altogether.
A Coca-Cola spokesman told CNBC the stylised map was changed by a hired agency without the company’s knowledge or approval.
“We, as a company, do not take political positions unrelated to our business, and we apologise for the post,” the spokesman said.
frank.chung@news.com.au
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