Selfridges forced to stop selling globe that names Palestine but not Israel | News UK
Customers have complained to Selfridges after it sold a globe appearing to omit Israel from the map.
The high-end department store has withdrawn the illuminated, rotating world map from its shelves after shoppers spotted Israel was missing, while Palestine was labelled in capital letters in its place.
Neighbouring countries such as Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were all clearly marked along with their respective capitals.
Replying to a shopper, Selfridges said the globe used a numbering system to represent certain smaller countries instead of their names.
However the globe appeared to use an inconsistent formula, apparently favouring some nations over others.
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While Cyprus was marked by its name, Israel was listed as simply number 30, despite the latter being more than twice as large.
Meanwhile, Palestine, which covers an area of up to 2,400 square miles (including Gaza) was listed prominently, while neighbouring Jordan was numbered, despite spanning some 34,000 square miles.
Selfridges confirmed it had removed the product from sale after deeming that it could ’cause offence’.
It said: ‘We have also investigated this with the supplier and they have confirmed the globe uses a method of cartography, where some countries, such as Israel, are numbered on the map and are listed on a separate key.
‘It’s extremely important to us that we create an environment where everyone feels welcome and our customers can shop with confidence, which is why we made the decision to remove the item from sale.’
The globe was spotted on sale at Selfridges’ flagship store on Oxford Street.
Pro-Israeli activist Max Radford accused the department store of ‘cancelling’ Israel, claiming the luxury brand had received more than 700 complaints on the matter.
Selfridges was once owned by British Jewish businessman Sir Charles Clore, after whom a beachfront park in Tel Aviv is named.
One customer wrote online: ‘I am disgusted this was on the shelves of your store. It is factually incorrect and all stock of it needs to be disposed of.’
Metro has contacted Selfridges for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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