Reuters Corrects Erroneous ‘Palestine’ Language

October 6, 2022

CAMERA’s Israel office this week prompted correction of an erroneous reference to Palestine in a Reuters article on the dispute between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s concerning ice cream sales in the West Bank (“Ben & Jerry’s says parent co Unilever ‘covertly’ took trademarks,” Oct. 1).

Contrary to Reuters style, the article had originally stated: “A judge in August rejected Ben & Jerry’s bid to immediately stop sales in Palestine, saying the manufacturer did not show it would suffer irreparable harm.”

Illustrative image of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (Photo by Patrick Fox)

References to modern “Palestine” in the West Bank and Gaza are inaccurate, and those areas should be referred to as the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or, when referring to West Bank areas under control of the Palestinian Authority, “Palestinian Authority territories.” In this case, Ben & Jerry’s said its boycott would target the “Israeli-occupied West Bank,” presumably including both Israeli settlements and areas under control of the Palestinian Authority. 
In response to communication from CAMERA, Reuters editors commendably amended the article Oct. 3, which now accurately states: “A judge in August rejected Ben & Jerry’s bid to immediately stop sales in the West Bank … ” Contrary to common journalistic practice, including at Reuters, no note is appending alerting readers to the change. 
 
Reuters has commendably corrected the identical error in the past, both in English (here and here) and in Arabic. 

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