Publisher Says Omission of Israel from Map in Book Was a Mistake

Harper and Row said today that the omission of Israel from a map of the Middle East that appears in a recently published book was a “mistake” that will be “corrected in future editions.” A spokesperson for the publishing house told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that a letter to that effect will be sent this week to Richard Maass, president of the American Jewish Committee, who had protested the omission.

Maass wrote to John Cowles, Jr., chairman of the Board of Harper and Row, demanding “an apology” for failing to identify Israel by name in the map printed on the inside covers of a book it has just published, “The Businessman’s Guide to the Middle East,” by Lillian Africano. “Seeing all other countries in the area so identified forces us to conclude that this is not an oversight but a deliberate move,” Maass wrote. The spokesperson said the letter of explanation to Maass would be sent by one of the firm’s lawyers.