Israel has a small beef with one of the biggest technology companies in the world.
The Israeli government wrote Apple a letter asking the iPhone maker to take down a mobile app called “The Third Intifada” from its App Store.
Yuli Edelstein, Israel’s Minister for Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, wrote the letter to Apple on Tuesday to express his concern.
“Upon review of the stories, articles and photos published by means of the application, one can easily see that this is in fact anti-Israel and anti-Zionist. Furthermore, as is implied by its name, the application calls for an uprising against the State of Israel,” Edelstein wrote. “I am convinced that you are aware of this type of application’s ability to unite many toward an objective that could be disastrous.”
Edelstein wants Apple to pull The Third Intifada. Written in Arabic, Reuters reports that the app offers users a stream of news stories and editorials in Arabic, announces upcoming protests, and includes links to nationalistic Palestinian videos and songs.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is also urging Apple to pull the app. In addition, the app developer was behind the “Third Intifada” Facebook page, which was promptly taken down following protests from the Wiesenthal Center, among others, to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“Dissent, dialogue yes, but the leading new media and technology companies should not be facilitating entities with a track record of promoting incitement and violence,” says Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.
According to Apple’s guidelines, applications “containing references or commentary about a religious, cultural or ethnic group that are defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to expose the targeted group to harm or violence will be rejected.” “Therefore,” Cooper concludes, “we urge Apple to do the right thing and de-link ‘The Third Intifada’ from its network.”
Apple was not immediately available for comment.
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