Encyclopedia Britannica revises map amid criticism of Israel erasure

Following a complaint from a British pro-Israel legal organization and a media inquiry by The Telegraph, the Britannica Kids edition removed a map that labeled Israel as “Palestine.”

The change was prompted by concerns that the material omitted Israel and pushed a politically biased narrative.

Published on the Britannica Kids website, the map showed the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea as “Palestine,” with no mention of Israel, Ynet News reported. The caption with the map read, “The name Palestine refers to a region in the Middle East. The region lies between the Jordan River and the Medi­ter­ranean Sea.”

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) criticized Britannica Kids for a map labeling Israel as “Palestine,” saying it echoes the slogan “From the river to the sea,” used by pro-Palestinian activists and Hamas to envision a Palestinian state encompassing all of Israel. In a letter to the encyclopedia’s U.S. publishers, UKLFI wrote that the entries “effectively erase the existence of Israel”, and called for their urgent correction.

Following an inquiry by The Telegraph, Britannica updated the map to note: Today the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are located within this area.”

Shari Black, a London-based Jewish children’s book author with family in Israel, first raised concerns about the published map in November 2024. Black reached out to Britannica directly and was told that the editorial team would look into the matter, but she said she was never informed of any changes that resulted.

“Accuracy is really important when you're writing books for children and I was surprised that such a respected website would publish historic inaccuracies like this,” Black told The Telegraph. “It pushes a certain agenda, an erasure of Israel, a delegitimization of the country – even though it (the State of Israel) was established by international consensus.”

Additionally, The Telegraph challenged the idea of Palestine being in existence for “thousands of years,” pointing out that the term “Palestine” was introduced by the Roman Emperor Hadrian only after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 C.E., as a means to suppress Jewish identity in the area formerly known as Judea.

Encyclopedia Britannica’s editor-in-chief, Theodore Pappas, said the company would “review these claims by the UK Law­yers for Israel and make adjust­ments to our con­tent, if needed.”