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Entries on the Britannica platform describe “Palestine” as a territory with undefined borders that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
By United with Israel Staff
The Encyclopedia Britannica is facing serious criticism after children’s educational materials published on its website were found to erase the existence of the State of Israel and replace it with a politicized narrative that presents the entire land as “Palestine.”
According to a report in The Telegraph, a map aimed at young learners described “Palestine” in the present tense as the region “between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea” — language that directly aligns with long-standing propaganda used to deny Israel’s legitimacy and Jewish sovereignty.
Additional children’s entries on the Britannica platform described “Palestine” as a territory with undefined borders that, in contemporary understanding, stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, north to Lebanon and south into the Negev. The framing presents the entire area as Palestinian while completely omitting Israel as a sovereign state, effectively rewriting reality for a child audience.
The legal advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) warned that the materials amount to a factual and ideological erasure of Israel, accusing Britannica of injecting political messaging into content marketed as neutral education.
In a letter to Britannica’s publishers, the group said the materials present “the whole land as Palestine,” while Israel “simply disappears,” calling it a clear case of delegitimization rather than education. UKLFI warned that when the denial of Israel’s existence is normalized — particularly in children’s learning materials — it constitutes a contemporary form of antisemitism.
The issue was first raised by Shari Black, a London-based children’s author and editor, who contacted Britannica in November 2024 demanding corrections. Black said she received a generic response stating the matter would be reviewed, but no substantive changes followed.
In an interview with The Telegraph, London-based children’s author and editor Shari Black said she was shocked that a globally respected educational publisher would circulate material that “promotes the delegitimization of Israel under the cover of objective knowledge,” particularly when aimed at children.
Only after The Telegraph contacted Encyclopedia Britannica did the company remove the map from its website. The definition was subsequently updated to state explicitly that “today, the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip are located within this area.”
Jewish and pro-Israel organizations have since warned that the episode underscores a broader concern over the treatment of Israel in educational content. They argue that presenting the entire territory as “Palestine” while omitting Israel reflects political framing rather than neutral instruction, and that such narratives — when introduced to children — risk normalizing the denial of Israel’s existence under the guise of objective education.
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