Typing “Jerusalem” on the current iPhone iOS 17.4.1 software in an emoji search returns a Palestinian flag icon if the phone is set to English (UK) but not when set to English (U.S.), JNS found on Wednesday.
The same thing happens on some of Google’s Android devices, reported The Jewish Chronicle, citing a social-media post by Rachel Riley, a British television presenter.
“I’ve just upgraded my software to version iOS 17.4.1, and now, when I type the capital of Israel, Jerusalem, I’m offered the Palestinian flag emoji,” Riley wrote to Apple and its CEO, Tim Cook. “This didn’t occur on my phone immediately before this update.”
“Showing double standards with respect to Israel is a form of antisemitism, which is itself a form of racism against Jewish people,” Riley added. “Please explain whether this is an intentional act by your company, or whether you have no control over rogue programmers.”
She signed the post as “a Jewish woman concerned about the global rise in antisemitism.”
Riley added a list of 65 capital cities “that do not offer their nation’s flags, let alone the wrong one.”
