At the request of the Israeli government, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has removed the third intifada application from its App Store for iPhones and iPads.
An Apple spokesman said, "We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."
Yesterday, Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, asking the company to remove the application immediately. In the letter, Edelstein expressed his concerns over the content found in the application. He wrote, "The application calls for an uprising against the State of Israel."
The removal of the app by Apple comes amidst heavy criticism by Israel and its supporters that Facebook has ignored its own instructions that it is prohibited to post harmful content that incites to violence, after Facebook was slow to remove a page calling for a third Intifada against Israel.
After the removal of the Facebook page, Edelstein had said, "Removal of the page is proof that Facebook understands that the page was a blatant abuse of freedom of expression and incitement to violent acts."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 23, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011