Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-1999
- Title:
- Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-1999
- Alternate Title:
- Palestinian Loss of Land
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Biles, Timothy
- Date:
- 2003
- Posted Date:
- 2015-08-25
- ID Number:
- 1402.01
- File Name:
- PJM_1402_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Deception/Distortion
Other War & Peace
Religion - Measurement:
- 29 x 42 (sheet) (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This controversial series of maps, entitled "Palestinian loss of land 1946-1999," shows territory identified as "Palestinian land" becoming "Jewish land" by 1999 in four "Stages." The text suggests that this was accomplished by fiat: "72% of the West Bank has been declared 'Israeli state land' and confiscated from Palestinians without compensation." The collection includes a similar poster from 2008, "The Evolution of Palestine from 1946 to 2008. Who Are the Terrorists?", ID #2532.
These maps have spread widely over the internet. "They appear on neo-Nazi forums..., on the English language website of Hamas’ Izz a Din al Qassam brigades, on the sites of various ‘peace campaigners’ such as ‘Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel.‘... They can be found on Greek, Swedish, Irish and Malaysian sites among others and are promoted by Canadian 9/11 ‘truthers’ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. They are advertised for sale on the internet in postcard form by both ‘Friends of Sabeel North America’ and the Ann Arbour Quakers." (http://cifwatch.com/2011/06/24/beyond-belief-political-propaganda-in-the-anglican-church/ (links omitted), accessed January 16, 2015). Andrew Sullivan cited them approvingly on his Atlantic blog, (http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/03/did-netanyahu-know/189446/, accessed January 16, 2015). They have been displayed as advertising posters in Boston, New York, Washington and elsewhere (http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.554775, accessed January 16, 2015).
As these maps have gained recognition, they have been widely criticized. See, e.g., http://www.catholicsforisrael.com/en/articles/israel-today/188-israel-palestine-when-the-map-lies, accessed January 16, 2015, asserting that the map "has little to do with reality and completely misrepresents the recent history:" (i) There was no "Palestinian land" in 1946 to begin with, only a territory with both Arab and Jewish residents, controlled and administered by the British (and before them, by the Ottoman Empire). (ii) The UN partition plan of 1947 never became effective, because although Israel accepted it, the Arab states did not - and launched war on Israel. (iii) The post-1949 map reflects the outcome of the 1948 war; it also ignores the occupation of Gaza by Egypt and the annexation of the entire West Bank by Jordan. (iv) The final map reflects the outcome of two major wars of aggression launched by Arab states against Israel: the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. (It also ignores the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and other territories.) A version of this map is shown in a recent publication which identifies it as "an intentionally inflammatory, politically inspired image," but does not discuss the historical inaccuracies. Phaidon 2015, 141.
On October 15, 2015, MSNBC displayed a copy of these maps and used them as part of an explanation of the Israeli conflict. Four days later the network aired an apology, calling them "not factually accurate," expressing "regret" for using them on air, and describing the deception in the maps. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpPCsWdpXrw and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9-SPP-7g18, accessed October 20, 2015.
It is unclear who first produced these maps, when or where. This version is the earliest I have been able to find. It appears in a 2003 book by Rev. Timothy Biles, a retired Anglican vicar from Dorset. Biles attributes the maps to the "Palestine Solidarity Campaign," a British group whose website currently offers copies of the maps, without attribution. https://www.palestinecampaign.org/resources/leaflets-flyers/, accessed July 1, 2022.
For a 1980 Time Magazine publication that may have been the source of these maps, see ID #2230, "PALESTINE: Key to Peace in the Middle East." The earlier Time poster provides a more balanced assessment of the situation. It contains none of the inflammatory rhetoric and includes extensive explanatory notes absent from the later maps.
The Collection includes a number of other maps related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Search > "israel* AND palest*".
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- Biles, Timothy. 2003. A Puppy Dies. s.l.: Timothy Biles.
- Repository:
- Private Collection of PJ Mode
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.