According to Ayelet Shaked, who heads the Yisrael Sheli (My Israel) organization, it is quite possible that as the Google Street View project gets underway in Israel, Israel’s image might be negatively impacted.
The program was recently approved by the Justice Ministry, permitting the Google specially equipped vehicles to travel and photograph from the roadways in Israel.
Shaked has turned to the head of Google Israel, Meir Brand, requesting that Google use the appropriate technology to distort controversial political messages [from all walks of the political map] that may be intentionally displayed by ‘anti-Israel elements’ to compromise Israel’s image. Such a reality she feels may negatively impact Israel’s image. She adds that since Google maintains a policy of distorting portions of photographs when necessary, that a policy be implemented in Israel that would prevent promoting any political messages towards protecting Google’s and Israel’s image.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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9 Responses
Countries with a realistic chance of being attacked should probably ban Google from doing this. Those maps are detailed enough to allow enemy missles to use them for guidance. Are any of the countries Israel plans to attack in the event of war allowing Google to do this?
Huh? What messages is she talking about?
Google doesn’t distort images for political purposes, only privacy.
God forbid that the reality should be exposed (LOL). I mean really, people will always find out what it is that we need to know. ANY TAKERS?
Anybody up for some greasy yerushalmi google? 🙂
@1 – the product being discussed in google street view, not google maps. Google maps already exists for Israel, in full detail. Street view is just 3D pictures of the country to go along with that.
yosss, best line I’ve heard today. thanks for the smile.
NYBD, with pleasure!
The typical spy satellite can see the numbers on the license plate of a car. Every day tens of thousands of tourists are snapping millions of photos all over Israel. So exactly what great secrets will Google be exposing?
In the mid 80’s I had a copy of a map of Israel that was given to me by a tourist I helped find his way around in Yerusaliim. Among the usual items found on maps, this one also showed all of Israel’s military bases and their names. It was printed in Jordan. Israeli maps were not allowed to show military bases but could be easily spotted by the large blank areas at the end of roads that seem to end in the middle of nowhere. The prohibition was to make it difficult for spies to find the bases.
There is a great deal of absurdity and down right stupidity that passes for security concerns.
Aryeh Zelasko
Beit Shemesh
#2 I think they’re talking about graffiti saying things like “Kahane tzadak” and “ein aravim ein piguim.” This sort of thing could be used to incite anti-Semitism.