Czech Textbooks to Drop Yerushalayim as Israeli Capital After Palestinian Complaint

A complaint from the Palestinian Authority’s embassy in Prague about the depiction of Yerushalayim as the capital of Israel in Czech schoolbooks has prompted the Education Ministry to order that they be changed to show Tel Aviv as the Israeli capital.

The Czech Foreign Ministry backed the decision with a statement that “the Czech Republic does not consider east Jerusalem a part of the State of Israel.

“The EU member countries, including the Czech Republic, view Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, i.e., the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon responded: “The Foreign Ministry is working energetically with the relevant parties in the Czech government in order to cancel the perverse teaching. There is no limit to Palestinian incitement, which doesn’t satisfy itself with poisoning the minds of young Palestinians, but also seeks to sow lies among the youth of the Czech Republic.”

The maps are printed in atlases distributed to primary and secondary schools of the Czech Republic. The atlas publisher, Shocart, will have to designate Tel Aviv the capital of Israel, or lose its certification as an official school book.

“The data in the atlas will be corrected as of the new year,” the Education Ministry’s spokeswoman Klara Bila said.

Shocart apologized for the “mistake.”