British watchdog bans Israeli tourism ad for showing Temple Mount

The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an Israeli tourism advertisement showing the Western Wall and Temple Mount in Jerusalem, saying it was “misleading” because it implied that east Jerusalem was part of the State of Israel. The ASA said it had received a letter of complaint about the advert after it had appeared in several British newspapers.

The ruling follows a 2009 case in which the ASA criticized Israeli tourist authorities for running an advert on the London subway system which appeared to show Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights as part of Israel.

The ASA ruling said: "Readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the State of Israel. We understood, however, that the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead."

Israel's Ministry of Tourism has refused to accept the ruling. In response, it said the ad provided "basic, accurate information to a prospective UK visitor…It is entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit. Had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading."