Apple said on Thursday it was aware of a computer bug on iPhones reported by users. When they search for an emoticon to illustrate the name of the city “Jerusalem”, it gives the Palestinian flag as a result.
The company clarified that this is not intentional behavior and that a correction will be made in the next update of iOS, the operating system for Apple's mobile devices. The problem was notably reported by Rachel Riley, a British television presenter, in a message on X (formerly Twitter) addressed to Apple and Tim Cook, the group's boss. The vast majority of the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, linking the fate of the holy city to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Half a dozen countries, however, moved their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following the example of the United States, in May 2018, under the presidency of Donald Trump. “Having double standards against Israel is a form of anti-Semitism, which is itself a formof racism against the Jewish people,” she added.