Tel Aviv is the new capital of Israel, replacing Jerusalem as the eternal heartbeat of the Jewish State – at least according to a new Czech Republic textbook, the Prague Daily Monitor reported Monday.
The change was made after local Palestinian parents saw that school atlases and textbooks used by their children rightfully listed Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Naturally angered, they petitioned the Palestinian ambassador to Prague, who then complained to the Czech Foreign Ministry and the Education Ministry.
The government quickly bowed to Palestinian pressure, releasing a statement assuring the public that the country “does not consider East Jerusalem a part of the State of Israel.”
In her statement, Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Irena Valentova said that the atlas did not represent Prague’s official position.
She added that EU member countries, including the Czech Republic, view Jerusalem as “the future capital of both states, i.e., the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine.”
Starting in the new year, Tel Aviv will now be listed as Israel’s capital in the Czech atlas.
International refusal to recognize Jerusalem – the seat of the Israeli parliament, supreme court, prime minister, and president – is nothing new. The United States has refused to acknowledge that Jerusalem is in Israel, let alone that it is the capital of the country.
