PA TV Slams Arab Daily For Using 'Poisonous' Term 'Wailing Wall'

JERUSALEM – A Palestinian newspaper was attacked on the Palestinian Authority’s official television network for using the “poisonous” term “Wailing Wall” in reference to the outer wall of Judaism’s holiest site instead of the Arabic “al-Buraq Wall.”

The host of the TV show “Palestine This Morning” slammed Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam last month for not referring to the guidelines issued by the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information that stipulate which terms are to be substituted for the “poisoned terms disseminated by Israel and the U.S.”

“I don’t know how Al-Ayyam can write ‘Wailing Wall’ on its front page, and not even put quotation marks,” the host said in a translation provided by Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch.

The guidelines issued by the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information forbid any terms that highlight either Jewish tradition or Jewish historical ties to Israel. “The Promised Land” should be substituted for “The Land of Palestine,” “The Six-Pointed Star” should be used instead of “The Star of David,” and “The Temple Mount” – referring to the site of both Jewish temples – should be replaced with “The Noble Sanctuary of Jerusalem.”

In addition, terms which have come to reflect badly on Palestinian society should not be used, according to the ministry. The phrase “suicide-bomber” should be replaced “martyrdom-seeking operation,” the term “terror” should be supplanted by the more palatable term “resistance,” and anyone who has been killed – especially terrorists by Israeli forces – should be referred to as a “martyr.”