Calls to remove Badran atlas from Lebanese market
Lebanon, Politics, 11/5/1999

Omitting the name of Palestine from "The World Atlas," released by the Badran publishing company and replacing it with "Ehuda" and "al-Samera," besides mentioning the names of Arab villages in Palestine in the Hebrew language was the subject of the meeting which was held by the national labor symposium and the National Commission for Resisting Normalization on Wednesday night at the headquarters of the labor symposium.

Several Lebanese social, political and party figures took part in the meeting, and all proposals saw the atlas in the context of its negative effect in light of its normalization consequences regarding Israel in the minds of the new generation. They said this Atlas is an attempt to abrogate "Palestine from our mind and from the geography," a position which is in contradiction with the Lebanese national, public and official stand which opposes normalization.

Views expressed were identical on the need to have a call by the Cabinet that provides for banning the use of the atlas and raises a court case against the owner of the publishing house as well as to convene seminars and symposium to explain the dimensions of omitting the name of Palestine. Hani Fakhouri, a participant, said "We learned that Lebanon to be bordered from its south by Palestine, not by Ehuda and Samera." He called for prompt action to "divert the danger off of children."

The secretary general of the national commission, Lt. Gen. Yassin Sweid, described the step taken by the publisher as dangerous. He proposed launching a campaign in collaboration between the ministries of education, culture and higher education to prevent the circulation of the Atlas and to contact the national commissions in the Arab states and the Arab League to be aware of such a danger.

The official in charge of the media department at the charity projects society, Abdul Qader Fakhani, held the government of al-Hariri responsible and called for establishing a follow-up committee to learn the time period during which the publisher pledged to correct what had been said in the atlas before the attorney general.

Former Lebanese parliament member Abdullah Ghuteimi proposed that the Cabinet confiscate the atlas. The same proposal was backed by Lebanese Socialist Labor Party member Samir Ahmad, while the secretary of the Lebanese Bar Association, lawyer Farouk Yaghi, said that the association formed an anti-normalization committee.

The chairman of the Lebanese National Youth Union, Abdullah Najm, called for omitting the pages which have the Hebrew names as a first step, while the representative of the Baath Party in Lebanon, Bpoulos Butrous, proposed that the Ministry of Education ask schools to prevent the use of the atlas.

It was also agreed that a statement including all debated proposals will be announced later.

Previous Stories:
  Badran publishing house owner brought before the court   (11/3/1999)
  Maps and books in Lebanon drop the name of Palestine   (10/9/1999)

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