This past Wednesday, YWN Israel published an article which stated that the iPhone, which continues to gain popularity in Israel, enjoys many features, including a weather channel, operated by Yahoo. The channel no longer lists “Jerusalem” but one must select either “East Jerusalem” or “West Jerusalem” for weather, sending a clear political statement since in the geographically tiny capital,

In regards to this article, YWN received the following statement from the Simon Wiesenthal Center:

Los Angeles, CA -In response to a call from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Israeli government, Yahoo! executives pledged to change its portal site’s weather listings that show two separate Jerusalems: one for Israel and one for the West Bank. Wiesenthal Center officials said that not showing a unified Jerusalem is a political statement offensive to Israelis and the Jewish community around the world. In a letter to Yahoo! CEO, Carol Bartz, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Center said, “We are sure you are aware how offensive this is, because, since 1967, Jerusalem has been the undivided capital of the State of Israel. For Yahoo to unilaterally decide to divide the city is offensive and insulting to friends of Israel everywhere.” Hier pointed out that Yahoo’s weather listings do not show this distinction in any other of the world’s disputed territories. “For example,” he said, “to get the weather for Tibet on Yahoo, you have to click to China.”

Rabbi Meyer H. May, the Center’s Executive Director, initially brought this concern to Yahoo!’s attention and noted that the same problem exists on the Yahoo! Weather app that comes standard with Apple’s iPhone. Quickly responding, Yahoo! executives assured the Wiesenthal Center that they would immediately address and correct the problem. In an e-mail to Rabbi May, the executives wrote, “You do have our commitment regarding one Jerusalem and this matter has received attention at the executive staff level to get this done post haste.” May thanked the executives for their response and urged them to further investigate the source of this problem.

(Yehuda Drudgestein – YWN)