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Apple has been accused of anti-Semitism after a system update showed a Palestinian flag emoji when users typed in the word “Jerusalem.”
If you type the name of Israel’s capital into the emoji keyboard on an iPhone running the latest software, a Palestinian flag will pop up in your text message.
Emoji Keyboard displays national flags when you search by country, but it’s unclear which capital cities are running this feature. When The Telegraph searched for “London,” “Paris,” “Bangkok” and “New York” on his iPhone, which is running the latest version of Apple’s iOS software, the respective national flags did not appear. .
Countdown host Rachel Riley highlighted the phenomenon on social media.
She wrote on Twitter: “@Apple @applesupport @tim_cook I just upgraded my software to version iOS 17.4.1 and when I type Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, a Palestinian flag emoji appears.
“My phone did not have this problem just before this update.
“Below is a (not all) list of capitals that do not fly their national flag, much less fly the wrong flag.
“Exhibiting double standards when it comes to Israel is a form of anti-Semitism and is itself a form of racism against Jews.
“Please explain if this is an intentional act by your company or if you have no control over rogue programmers.
“Jewish women concerned about the global rise in anti-Semitism.”
Israel declares Jerusalem its capital, a claim recognized by US President Donald Trump, but Jerusalem is also claimed by the Palestinians as their capital. The eastern part of the city is considered Palestinian territory by the United Nations.
The unrest comes six months after hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed and hostages were taken by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The Telegraph has confirmed that when you type the word “Jerusalem” into the emoji search box on your iPhone, it will automatically suggest the Palestinian flag emoji.
The issue occurred on three phones running iOS 17.4.1, the latest version of the phone software released on March 21st.
When I typed “Jerusalem” on an older iPhone running a version of iOS that was last updated five weeks ago, the Palestinian flag did not appear.
Emojis are small digital icons used to express ideas and emotions. These are the modern form of emoticons, faces that early internet users strung together punctuation marks to express happy or sad expressions.
Tom Devon, a social media expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the emoji was likely programmed to appear next to the word Jerusalem thanks to “human intervention.”
“Apple’s linking of emojis to political causes is problematic. The infrastructural relationship between the word ‘Jerusalem’ and the Palestinian flag in iOS requires careful internal decisions,” the academic said. Stated.
“They shape your thinking”
He continued: “In contrast to social media platforms, where default recommendations are determined by user engagement, Apple’s emoji defaults require human intervention.
“If you keep seeing these expressions as you express your thoughts, they will eventually shape your thinking.
“While there is nothing inherently wrong with associating Jerusalem with Palestinian faith, Apple’s choice of default setting is justified, especially given the potential discriminatory implications of this decision.”
An Apple spokesperson said the Palestinian flag was the result of a “bug” in the predictive emoji and was an unintended behavior, adding that a fix would be available soon.
Some Apple employees are calling on their bosses to “redefine expectations” about how the world views Palestine.
An open letter said to have been signed by more than 300 former and current employees in March called out “the company’s lack of consideration and understanding of the Palestinian community, not just those in the Gaza Strip, who are suffering overseas, but also our team members.” There were complaints about.
Apple’s president expressed his sympathy
“The time has come for Apple to take center stage and redefine expectations for how the world views the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determination and uphold our beliefs in racial equality and justice,” the letter said. Ta.
Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email to the company’s 161,000 employees on October 9, expressing his condolences to those killed in the Hamas attack two days earlier.
Israel’s response to the October 7 military invasion of the Gaza Strip, a terrorist attack, has so far killed about 32,000 people since October. The United Nations has warned of impending famine in the disputed territory, while US President Joe Biden has called on Israel to take “immediate action” to prevent further civilian deaths. There is.
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