Czech Education Minister Katerina Valachova. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – The Czech Education Ministry reversed its decision requiring the company that prints school atlases to stop naming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Prague Daily Monitor reported Tuesday.

According to the report, in an interview with Czech Radio, Education Minister Katerina Valachova said the textbooks have valid government certification until 2017, and that this status will not be interfered with by her ministry.

“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital from the viewpoint of the declaration of the country to which this relates, which means Israel,” Valachova said, adding, “If there is a sentence relating to all of the international steps, I believe that this fact will not offend either side.”

As The Algemeiner reported, Palestinian Ambassador to Prague Khaled Alattrash had previously convinced the Czech government to force the atlas publisher, Shocart, to rename Israel’s capital as Tel Aviv or risk losing its certification as a recognized textbook publisher.

Israeli officials were enraged that the Czech ministry agreed to those demands. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat wrote to Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka urging him to walk back what the Israeli Foreign Ministry called a “reprehensible decision.”

On Wednesday, Barkat welcomed the reversal, saying, “Jerusalem is on the map!” The mayor added that he is thankful to the Czech government “for refusing to surrender to Palestinian incitement and lies. I am pleased that my letter to Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the additional diplomatic efforts have positively impacted this decision.”