Israeli Knesset Hall. Photo: Wiki Commons.

As absurd as it may seem to those unfamiliar with the ideological bias that colors most Israel related items published at the Guardian and ‘Comment is Free,’ up until the summer of 2102, the Guardian’s Style Guide stated that Jerusalem is NOT the capital of Israel; Tel Aviv is.“ This false claim was only retracted after a complaint was filed with the PCC.

In the August 7 edition of their ‘Corrections and Clarifications’ section, the Guardian accepted that “it is wrong to state that Tel Aviv – the country’s financial and diplomatic centre – is the capital.“.

Here’s the Guardian Style Guide before the change:

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And, now:

So, while reading the following opening passage in a November 8 article by the Guardian’s Middle East Editor Ian Black (Hawks squawk even before Iran nuclear deal is sealed), keep in mind that the paper has at least officially ‘acknowledged’ that Tel Aviv is NOT the capital of Israel and that the seat of government is located in Jerusalem.

Hardliners in Tehran, hawks in Tel Aviv and Washington, nervous Saudis and their Gulf allies are all alarmed at the prospect of a nuclear deal between Iran, the US and the international community.

The context makes it clear that Black is referring to the putatively “hardline” and “hawkish” political leaders within the governments of Iran, Israel, and the United States. Yet, while the cities (where the ‘seat of government’ is located) in Iran and the United States are correct, the paper’s Middle East “expert” bestows this status to the wrong Israeli city.

Jerusalem is of course where the Israeli Knesset, Supreme Court, Foreign Ministry, and Prime Minister’s Office are located, and thus – by the Guardian’s own definition per it’s ‘amended’ style guide – is where the evidently ubiquitous ‘squawking’ Israeli ‘hawks’ routinely gather.

The Israeli Knesset, Jerusalem.

The Guardian erred on a fundamental fact about the Jewish state – ‘a mistake they’ve made more than once.’

Adam Levick is the managing editor of CiF Watch, an affiliate of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA).