The f*ck of the Irish strike again:
THE ADVERTISING STANDARDS Authority for Ireland (ASAI) has upheld a complaint made against Classic Hits over the use of an image of the Old City of Jerusalem in a competition to win flights to Tel Aviv, Israel.
The complainant said that the image, when taken alongside the text of the advertisement, clearly intended to convey that Jerusalem’s Old City was part of Israel and not an “occupied and illegally colonised area.”
The advertisement appeared in an article on the radio station’s website highlighting a prize that was available via an on-air competition on the station’s breakfast show during the week of the 18 to 22 November 2019.
The on-air promotion referred to in the article offered the prize of return flights from Dublin to Tel Aviv with El Al Airlines.
“Fly to Israel for as little as €319, from May 2020. Enjoy a sunset on Tel Aviv beach, tour the historic city of Jerusalem or float in the dead sea,” the advert read.
“Enjoy a sunset on Tel Aviv beach, tour the historic city of Jerusalem or float in the dead sea, ” it read under a collection of pictures, which included the Armenian Walls in the Old City Jerusalem.
The complainant said that the old city was universally recognised an “occupied and illegally colonised area” in International Law, by the UN Security Council, by the UN General Assembly, by the European Union, by the Irish Government, and by all major human rights organisations.
In response to the complaint, Classic Hits said the advert highlighted a number of activities that a prize winner could potentially engage in whilst on their trip to the region, and that the article had made no reference to the nationality of the activities/attractions featured.
The station argued that Irish travellers seeking holiday options in the region would find a similar approach taken by many travel company operated websites. It said that these travel sites and articles did not deal with the geopolitical issues of the destinations highlighted.
It added that the article had been honest and truthful in relation to the breakfast show, the prize on offer and the details of the prize.
The ASAI complaint’s committee noted that it had not been the station’s intention to imply that any area mentioned in their advertising was in a particular jurisdiction, but given the invitation to “journey to Israel”, without clarification, the implication was that the featured destinations were all in Israel.
“The advertisement had included the statement “Begin your exciting journey to Israel …” and featured a number of destinations, including Jerusalem and its Old City Walls. It had not stated that the destinations were all in Israel.
“As the Old City was not recognised by the international community as forming part of Israel, the Committee considered that the reference to “begin your exciting journey to Israel” was likely to mislead and was in breach of Sections 4.1 and 4.4 of the Code,” the ASAI concluded.
As the competition was closed, no further action was required in this case.
I fail to see what is misleading. I bet the prize winners – assuming they were able to come to Israel – did indeed visit the Old City of Jerusalem, without having to cross any border or show their passport.
Because it is in Israel.
And that includes according to International Law, by the way.
Unfortunately, I am not surprised someone made the complaint. This is the country that brought us the Occupied Territories Bill, after all. So we already know it has its fair share of haters.
Hat tip: Maimon
Update: The image still appears on the Classic Hits website.
