BySimon Rocker, Simon Rocker
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against an advert by an Israeli property firm for suggesting that a development in the West Bank town of Efrat was in Israel.
The watchdog said that the advert, which was placed by the Israel Lease and Acquisition Network (ILAN) in the JC in June, was "misleading".
ILAN's advert did not explicitly state that the development was in Israel but referred to its network of agents "across Israel" and also to its stand at an Israeli property exhibition in London.
The references to Israel "strongly implied" the development was in Israel, the ASA said, adding: "We considered that the fact that the development… was in the West Bank, in territory not internationally recognised as part of Israel, was likely to be highly material to consumers and that the omission of the information rendered the ad misleading" .
The ASA said it had been concerned at "a lack of response" to the complaint from the company.
But ILAN director Ilan Rubinstein, when informed of the ruling, said: "This is the first I have heard of this. I would have responded immediately and challenged the complaint on the basis that Efrat is an integral part of the historic Jewish homeland." He is considering an appeal.
The ASA decision was welcomed by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of whose members reportedly made the complaint. The PSC's logo sports a map of Palestine which includes the whole of Israel.
The Israel Government Tourist Office has been rapped by the ASA for suggesting the Western Wall was part of Israel, but the watchdog also casstigated a Palestinian tourist ad for describing Jerusalem as part of Palestine.