ISRAEL: iPhone's two-city solution disturbs the Mideast peace

Right-leaning Israeli politicians like to refer to Jerusalem as their "undivided capital." But iPhone users here and around the world found recently that the storied, disputed city had been split in two.

In the smart phone's weather application, the listing for "Jerusalem" disappeared earlier this month and was replaced by "West Jerusalem" and "East Jerusalem."

Both Israelis, who dominate the west part of the city, and Palestinians, the majority in the east, claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East War, though Palestinians (and most of the international community) never accepted it.

The debate over how, or whether, to divide Jerusalem is still one of the thorniest issues in Mideast peace talks.

Perhaps frustrated with the lack of progress in the peace process, iPhone engineers apparently decided to impose their own mini-version of a two-state solution by partitioning the city and, in essence, forcing users to pick sides.

A similar change took place on Yahoo's weather site, which gave users the option of checking the temperature in "Jerusalem, West Bank, Palestine" or "Jerusalem, Israel."

Reaction was mixed. A few Israelis and Palestinians got a kick out of the option, even though temperature information and other data were identical for East and West Jerusalem.

But many Israelis, here and in the U.S., took deep offense and accused Apple, the company that makes the iPhone, of "political propaganda."

One Jewish advocacy group, American Israeli Action Coalition, called the changes "extremely hurtful to the American Israeli community" and said they "smack of anti-Semitism." Israel's U.S. ambassador reportedly sent a letter of protest to Apple chief Steve Jobs and Yahoo chief Carol Bartz.

By Sunday, Apple and Yahoo appeared to have quickly signed a peace deal of their own. Jerusalem was magically reunified -- at least on the iPhone.

-- Edmund Sanders on the border of West and East Jerusalem

Comments

[ABG]

BTW Emily: No Jews are allowed to live in Jordan. And if you check your maps, you will notice that Jordan was created in the same region known of Palestine that your dear, pitiful Arabs without a home come from.

Get a clue, dear.

[ABG]

Actually, Emily, I was thinking I can play the game that you play all the time, which is mindless troll bashing Israel over things one doesn't understand nor is interested in finding a clarification. Or I can play Edmund's games of being a sniveling tart in terms of what matters to Israelis and World Jewry all the while insisting that I'm really an objective news reporter. (See... I have credentials.)

Still waiting for any evidence on the 36 Mossad operatives that supposedly killed a gun runner who was traveling to Dubai on, guess what, a fake passport.

Intelligence usually comes from facts, and I guess that's why I find it difficult to be like you.

[Joe Philly]

Wow, somewhat absurd. "Most of the international community" is closer to all of the international community - since no country has their embassey in Jerusalem. The Pals want East Jerusalem, while the Israelis want all of it. Also, it's amazing that "geography" can be labeled as smacking of Anti-Semitism. Also, read "unified" as "annexed."

[Emily]

OMG! Can I play "this land was promised to me" game too? Abraham had two sons, the first was Ismael, who was believed to be the forefather of Muhammad (PBUH), so if God promised the Holy Land to the progeny of Abraham- then it appears that both religions have a claim. Can the Palestinians come back in 3000 years and kick the Israelis out?

Also, the Palestinians are Arabs because in the 7th century AD, Islam expanded from the Arabian Peninsula to India, Iran, North Africa, Levant, Egypt, Spain, etc. There were people already living in these places, but because they mated (for lack of better term) with the Arabs who settled there, the population eventually became "Arabized". Therefore, the Palestinians (descendants of the Philistines- a pre-Islamic civilization in the Levant) are Arabized Christians and Muslims and could very well be considered the descendants of the people of Canaan, who were living there when Abraham arrived to the Holy Land.

Or maybe, we can stop using religious texts to solve geo-political disputes. There are several ethnic groups now living on a tiny piece of land. Both consider the land holy and call Jerusalem the capital. Why not create a state with NO state religion, constitutionally guaranteed rights for all, and hold a representative of each religion in charge of the preservation of holy sites? That way, these border disputes and labeling controversies are meaningless.

[BarbaraDiamond]

"Letting Israel investigate the attack on the aid flotilla is like letting Charlie Manson investigate the Sharon Tate killings."

[Paul A]

If the Israelis truly are God's chosen then why do they need our foreign aid? Didn't the Big Guy rain down manna from heaven and bring forth water from rocks back in Moses' day? Don't tell me you're God's people, show me (ie. Keep His commandments).

[Susanne]

Speaking about ancient history, didn't Los Angeles belong to Mexico not that long ago? And 2000 years ago, I‘m pretty sure no white man has set his foot here. Why not give it back to the Navajo and the Apache? Maybe the Jewish community and Hollywood can start and set an example-

[TruthBeTold]

I completely support the sharing of Jerusalem.

Of course, israHELL, will not accept it. They kill people and steal their internal organs to sell on the black market for crying out loud!...
[source: "Police smash Israeli organ-trafficking ring" - BBC News]

You don't expect them to share do you???? (that's why you have to force it down their throat)

PLUS - israel's population is 25% Arab. While the "jew" community is made up of european + africans who took a plane and then say "this is my land"... nut cases.

The problem is this....

The "jews" in israel are the fake ones, and the test to see if they are fake is really simple;

...if they have WHITE SKIN and BLUE EYES, they are the fake jews, who were documented EUROPEANS who converted to judaism in the 9th ceutury (they could be pagans or even phallic worshippers in the first place who have ZERO rights to the Jerusalem as they are the FAKE children of israel).

...genuine SEMITIC people (who are also the children of israel), like Jesus, and the Palestinians have OLIVE skin and brown/dark brown eyes.

This is a fact which has been written about, first in Arthur's "The Thirteenth Tribe" and then Dr. Sand's -Tel Aviv Professor- "The Invention of the Jewish People"

[M. Hamdon]

Apple and Yahoo did the right thing until the all powerful Israeli Zionist lobbyist forced them to fall in line.

To reply to Jonathan who wrote on June 14, 2010 at 01:09 PM.
Sir, I do not know who Professor Khaleel Mohammed is... I can tell you that either he has explained to his audience the Quran out of context or you have. In any case ALL who read this comment of mine please explore and make your own Judgment.

Read the Sura from the Quran Jonathan quoted to you all (Quran Sura 5, verse 20 to 21) AND ..... lets continue please.... from the same sura verse 57 to 82 or just read the whole Sura or the Whole Translation of the Quran if you wish.

'Truth stands out clear from Error' (Quran, Sura 2 Verse 256). For your reference here is a link of the Quran with English and other Language translations. www.quranexplorer.com/quran/
Salamu Alikum (Peace be with you).

[Frog 19]

What are this antisemites claims about ?
Both side of Jerusalem are semites . The Palestinians ARE SEMITES Israelis are fitghting their Blood brothers.

That is assuming we believe the israeli propaganda that the zionists are Jews
when IN FACT ,Zionism a political movement created early in the 20th century are Ashkenazis originated fron central Europe/west asia WHO CONVERTED to Judaism a 1000 years ago .They are not Jews.

Conclusion The Zionist have no rights over the biblical land
Palestinians are 100 % semites the israelites are may be 20 % (that is the shephardim local Jews natives of the region )

The true Jews reject Israel , see (naturei Karta )

[uninformedLuddite]

Apologies to Jeff in Singapore my previous post was meant for Jonathon

[uninformedLuddite]

RE: Jeff in Singapore

"They tell you", said the late Rabbi Emil Hirsch, "that Moses never lived. I acquiesce. If they tell me that the story that came from Egypt is mythology, I shall not protest; it is mythology. They tell me that the book of Isaiah, as we have it today, is composed of writings of at least three and perhaps four different periods; I knew it before they ever told me; before they knew it, it was my conviction".

Whether Moses lived or not, he cannot have led any mass-exodus from Egypt into Canaan (Palestine). No sharply-defined Israelitish tribes existed (says Rabbi Elmer Berger) at any time when anyone called Moses may have led some small groups out of Egyptian slavery. The Habiru (Hebrews) then were already established in Canaan, having reached it long before from Babylonia on the far side: Their name, Habiru, denoted no racial or tribal identity; it meant "nomads". Long before any small band led by Moses can have arrived they had overrun large Canaanite areas, and the governor of Jerusalem reported to Pharaoh in Egypt, "The King no longer has any territory, the Habiru have devastated all the King's territory".

A most zealous Zionist historian, Dr. Josef Kastein, is equally specific about this. He will often be quoted during this narrative because his book, like this one, covers the entire span of the controversy of Zion (save for the last twenty-two years; it was published in 1933). He says, "Countless other Semitic and Hebrew tribes were already settled in the promised land which, Moses told his followers, was theirs by ancient right of inheritance; what matter that actual conditions in Canaan had long since effaced this right and rendered it illusory".

Dr. Kastein, a fervent Zionist, holds that the Law laid down in the Old Testament must be fulfilled to the letter, but does not pretend to take the version of history seriously, on which this Law is based. In this he differs from Christian polemicists of the "every word is true" school. He holds that the Old Testament was in fact a political programme, drafted to meet the conditions of a time, and frequently revised to meet changing conditions.

The above is taken from the book "The Controversy of Zion" by Douglas Reed. It can be downloaded from the Internet at no cost.
Be very careful though as reading this book will mark you forever as an antisemite. It is regularly denounced by those who refuse to read it. They would burn it if it was paper. Sadly the Internet makes a lot of things that are censored from your view available at the click of a button.

[Mark]

It's all very well people using religion to justify today's politics, however, the Torah (Old Testament) is a collection of stories and fables from many cultures and civilisations. There is plenty of proof of this, such as the Sumerian clay tablets which show that the Noah Ark story has nothing to do with the Hebrews. There is also widely acknowledged use of Egyptian myths and traditions in the Old Testament. The New Testament isn't much better, do you know how many 'sons of god' have been born of a virgin on the 25th December, worked miracles, died and was resurrected? At least a dozen are recorded before the era of Jesus.

Modern Jews who read their scripture will have noticed that the state of Israel is a blasphemy against God as he said that the Jews would not be brought together until after the Messiah had been (or the second coming for the Christians out there). Many Hasidic Jews understand this.

The short answer to all the problems of the M.E. is educating the people to understand that their idea of God is WRONG WRONG WRONG.

[Rob]

steve, the verses you quoted in the quran being pro-israeli are correct but you mixed up the numbers. apple and yahoo should be ashamed of their actions. washington is washington, london is london, rome is rome, mecca is mecca, paris is paris and jerusalem is jerusalem. there is no east washington and west washington, east mecca and west mecca, east paris and west paris, etc......... all of these major cities or capitals are individually controlled under their own respected sovereign nation. none of the cities or capitals are split so i recommend to the international community of nations to butt out. thank you.

Surah 5 Verse 20 states " Remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Call in remembrance the favour of Allah unto you, when He produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples".

Surah 5 Verse 21 states "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin".

Surah 17 Verse 104 "And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)": but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd".

[Andy]

Hell with the Jews and Muslims.

All you do is bicker.
Anti-semitism is brought up for the tiniest critique of Israel.
Get over it, you have a damn strong army with 3 billion $'s support from MY country and you whine with that same phrase.

And Muslims must always bring up what some prophet said a billion years ago. My great, great,great, great grandfather said the island that Manhatten sits on would be mine.

If you people forgot your religion for a while you may actually like each other.
You both don't eat pork, I'm sure you have other things in common.

Shame on Steve Jobs for bowing to such a overused claim.

[Sarkis]

Steven, job well done! I will spread the word. The media has to be biased towards Israel in order to receive direct investment or advertisement money from the arabs/muslims. They have to show that they are not pro-Israel in any way. Apple wants to sell millions of ipods, ipads and other electronic items to arabs and muslims so they have to show to the muslims that they are against Israel and the same goes for Yahoo. Yahoo wants to attract a large muslim audience to its website so they have to also show that they are anti-Israel. But I know what it says in the New Testament. The Almighty Lord gave that land as an everlasting promise of the jews. Therefore, no one has any right to the land of Israel except the jews. This is their land and not ours. Anyone that rejects this notion will be judged on Judgment Day. In the end, the New Testament bible backs the jews and thier inheritence to all of the land of Israel. Who can defy The Lord? No one!

[Big Joe]

Enough already with the "anti-semitism" and stop whining. The world is frankly sick of hearing these people perpetually complain and are now on to their antics.

[Tony]

Palestinians ARE Semites! This "anti-Semite" slander has become a sad joke, except to a few nut-bars and American political whores.

[woody188]

Just goes to show how petty and stupid both sides can be in this dispute. Though in this instance the Zionists have really gone out of their way to show their use of anti-Semite in any and all instances that might go against what Israel has stated.

Israel also stated the Freedom Flotilla was heavily armed. Duh!

Holy War for territory. Where did Moses/Mohammad/Jesus say that was the path to divinity?

[Jeff in Singapore]

I didn't think it would take long for the hasbara attacks to start here, but you guys are awesomely efficient. If only the civil government were so hardworking...