BBC Olympics website omits Jerusalem as capital of Israel

London, England – The British Broadcasting Company’s Olympic website omitted Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Israeli page of the 2012 Olympic website states, “Seat of government Jerusalem, though most foreign embassies are in Tel Aviv.” The website lists “East Jerusalem” as the “Intended seat of government” of Palestine.

Mark Regrev, Advisor of Foreign Press and Public Affairs at the Israeli Prime Minister’s Bureau, protested the omission in a letter to Paul Danahar, BBC Middle East Bureau Chief. Prior to Israel’s protest, the BBC website listed Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and omitted Jerusalem as the capital for Israel. While the photos identifying other Middle East countries depicted peaceful cultural scenes, the picture for Israel depicted an Israeli soldier confronting a protestor.

Following several letters from Mr. Regev, the BBC modified the website to list Jerusalem as the “Seat of government” for Israel and Jerusalem as the “Intended seat of government” for Palestine.