Publisher amends revision guide after complaint from UK Lawyers for Israel

An educational publisher has confirmed it has amended a caption on a map of the Middle East featured in a geography revision guide to be reprinted this summer.

The change follows a complaint from campaigners at UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) in January. The group describes itself in a post on its website as a “voluntary organisation of lawyers who support Israel using their legal skills.”

The book, entitled “Geography Key Stage Three Revision and Practice Book”, published by Coordination Group Publications (CGP), was written for pupils in Key Stage Three, which spans ages 11 to 14.

The amended revision guide will be made available from July.

The publisher has amended a caption on a map of the Middle East previously describing Israel as being “in conflict with the Palestinians” despite omitting references to neighbouring conflicts in other captions.

Israel’s caption will now read instead: “Much of the population is concentrated in coastal cities like Tel Aviv”, with another paragraph added alongside the map enumerating conflicts across the region, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Another section previously read:  “There have been several conflicts in the Middle East, some still ongoing.  Events like the Iraq War (2003-2011) and the ongoing conflict in Israel can cause major disruption to levels of development as well as loss of life.”

The paragraph will now say instead: “Conflicts like the Iraq War (2003-2011) and civil wars in Syria and Yemen can cause major disruption to levels of development as well as loss of life.”

Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said: “We are pleased that these changes have been made, and Israel is no longer singled out on the map as being the only state in conflict in the Middle East, so children will get a more balance view of the region.”

A spokesperson for CGP declined to comment when contacted by Jewish News but confirmed the changes.