Apple is ERASING Israel’s capital by using Palestine flag for Jerusalem & it MUST be fixed, ex-Israeli spokesman blasts
APPLE was tonight accused of “erasing” Israel’s capital city by using the Palestinian flag to represent Jerusalem in its emojis.
Eylon Levy – until recently a top spokesman for PM Benjamin Netanyahu – blasted the tech giant and demanded an urgent investigation.
Many iPhone users were today appalled to discover a prompt for the Palestinian flag when they typed the word Jerusalem following an overnight software reboot.
Countdown star and prominent Jewish voice Rachel Riley led criticism of Apple and suggested it could be antisemitic.
And Mr Levy also lashed out during a no-holds-barred interview on The Sun’s political telly show Never Mind The Ballots.
You can watch the show at 7pm on The Sun’s YouTube channel and on thesun.co.uk.
He said: “A glitch like this on Apple that erases the capital city of Israel and wants to hand that over to the Palestinians is unfortunately part of this global wave of hostility that we are seeing towards Israel.”
He added that Jerusalem is “obviously” Israel’s capital because it houses the PM’s office and the Knesset Parliament while also being the country’s “historic” main city.
Urging action from Apple, Mr Levy added: “I would expect them to look into that and ask how that happened especially if as you say no other city gets associated with flags in that way.
Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital city, although it is controlled by Israel.
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And that no other capital city sparks a national flag on iPhones has prompted fury that Israel has been unfairly targeted.
Riley said she was “a Jewish woman concerned about the global rise in antisemitism”.
She said: “Showing double standards with respect to Israel is a form of antisemitism, which is itself a form of racism against Jewish people.”
The Sun has approached Apple for comment.
In his interview on Never Mind The Ballots, Mr Levy also addressed the circumstances of his recent departure as an Israeli government spokesman.
Biden is 'throwing Israel under the bus'
By KATIE DAVIS
JOE Biden is “throwing Israel under the bus”, Benjamin Netanyahu’s ex-spokesman has blasted.
Eylon Levy said the war had become a “problem they [the US] would like to wish away” as he rebuked the US President‘s comments.
He said that Biden is “throwing Israel under a bus” as he appeared on The Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots.
Mr Levy said the US is “throwing Israel under a bus”.
Biden has called Netayahu‘s handling of the war in Gaza a “mistake” and has called on his government to send in more aid.
A widening rift has been growing between the two staunch allies as Biden’s support of Israel’s war against Hamas appears to wane.
The most serious disagreement has been over Israel’s plans for an offensive in the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah.
Relations were worsened last week by an Israeli airstrike that killed seven charity workers. Israel said the deaths were unintentional but Biden was outraged.
In an interview recorded two days later, Biden branded Israel’s actions in Gaza a “mistake”.
When asked if Netanyahu is prioritising his political survival over the national interest, he told Univision: “What he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach.”
Biden said Israel should agree to a cease-fire, flood beleaguered Gaza with aid for the next six to eight weeks and allow other countries in the region to help distribute the aid.
“It should be done now”, he added.
But Mr Levy dismissed Biden’s remarks, saying Israel would plough on with its mission to take down Hamas in revenge for the deadly October 7 assault.
He told Never Mind The Ballots: “Israel is going to continue going after Hamas, doing everything it can to bring back the hostages.
“We know Hamas and Islamic jihad are executing the hostages, starving them, torturing them, raping them, and we’re not going to allow that to continue.”
Mr Levy accused Biden of “throwing Israel under a bus” as the presidential election nears.
Since Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack he has been a familiar face on Western media laying out Israel’s side of the conflict.
But he was removed from post last month after publicly taking issue with comments from British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron on aid supplies.
Yet today he suggested he was actually shown the door on the orders of Mr Netanyahu’s wife for protesting against the government before the war started.
And he accused Joe Biden of “throwing Israel under the bus”.
Mr Levy said the war had become a “problem they [the US] would like to wish away” as he rebuked the US President‘s comments.
Mr Levy said the US is “throwing Israel under a bus”.
Biden has called Netayahu‘s handling of the war in Gaza a “mistake” and has called on his government to send in more aid.