HarperCollins and Scholastic Inc. are not the only mapmakers who can’t seem to find the state of Israel.
A Norwegian NGO called Norwegian People’s Aid recently displayed colorful maps that erase Israel in favor of “Palestine” at an exhibition in Lebanon funded by the Norwegian government and other international donors.
But the funding of the exhibition of Palestinian maps may also include indirect funding from U.S. and Canadian donors, reports Palestinian Media Watch.
Norwegian People’s Aid stated in its annual account from 2012 that it was also supported by the U.S. State Department, USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development), the European Union, United Nations, the Dutch and Swedish ministries of foreign affairs, Germany and other governments, in addition to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation).
The exhibition was named “This is Palestine,” and the maps were painted by Palestinian children from Lebanon, according to PMW. The exhibition marked the 50th anniversary of “the outbreak of the ‘Palestinian revolution,'” reported the official PA daily, referring to the first terror attack that Fatah, headed by Yasser Arafat, carried out against Israel in 1965 – an attempt to blow up Israel’s National Water Carrier.
Norwegian People’s Aid describes the goal of its work with Palestinian refugees:
“Important struggles are the struggle to have recognition of the rights of the refugees to eventually return to their homeland after more than 60 years, and while they are staying in Lebanon the struggle for their basic civil rights and rights to basic services, to work and housing.”
WND reported last week that HarperCollins, one of the largest publishers in the world, filled orders from Arab countries to provide maps for school children in the Middle East that erase Israel.
The U.S.-based publishing giant apologized and canceled all future sales of its Collins Middle East Atlas after published reports by WND and several other media outlets exposed the defective maps.
“HarperCollins regrets the omission of the name Israel from their Collins Middle East Atlas. This product has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologizes for this omission and for any offense caused,” the company said in a statement.
In 2013, another major publishing house, Scholastic Inc., was caught selling children’s books that omitted Israel from an illustrated map. Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher of children’s books, was forced to apologize after parents began complaining and negative reviews started showing up on Amazon and Twitter. The company said in a statement it apologized and “regretted” printing a book that “inadvertently omits Israel” on a map.
