Israeli Foreign Ministry’s biblical map causes diplomatic backlash in the Arab world

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is facing a diplomatic backlash after it recently uploaded an Arabic language map of the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judea, which included the territory east of the Jordan River that is currently part of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 

The map of biblical Israel was posted online with the initial sentence, “Did you know that the Kingdom of Israel was established 3,000 years ago?” It also noted the division of the ancient Hebrew kingdom into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judea and their eventual destruction by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires. 

“However, the Jewish people in the diaspora continued to look forward to the revival of their powers and capabilities and the rebuilding of their state, which was declared in the State of Israel in 1948 to become the only democracy in the Middle East,” concluded the post published by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. 

هل تعلم ان مملكة إسرائيل كانت قائمة منذ 3000 سنة؟

أول ملك حكمها لمدة 40 عاما كان الملك شاؤول (1050--1010) ق. م. ثم تلاه الملك داود الذي حكمها 40 عاما تقريبا (1010-970 ) ق.م. وعقبه الملك سليمان الذي حكم ايضا لمدة 40 عاما في الفترة (970-931) ق.م.

دام حكم الملوك الثلاثة… pic.twitter.com/xK7jjORdOK

— إسرائيل بالعربية (@IsraelArabic) January 6, 2025

While the post highlighted facts regarding Israel’s ancient past, the Arab world reacted very negatively, claiming that Israel seeks to incorporate territories of its Arab neighbors.

Arab news outlets blasted the post with the map as a “fabrication of history," which the Jordanian foreign ministry condemned. 

“The ministry condemns in the strongest terms the maps of the region published by official Israeli accounts on social media platforms, claiming that they are historical for Israel, including parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.”

Referring to Bezalel Smotrich, the ministry in Amman, Jordan, added that the Israeli Foreign Ministry post was issued “in conjunction with racist statements by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister calling for the annexation of the West Bank and the establishment of settlements in the Gaza Strip.” 

Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh also blasted the “alleged map with a comment fabricating an Israeli history dating back thousands of years in line with the Hebrew allegations.”

He argued that "this behavior constitutes a flagrant violation of all international legitimacy resolutions and international law,” and added, “These extremist Israeli policies are what ignited the region and led to the wars we are currently witnessing.” 

Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The current war against Hamas was ignited with the unprovoked surprise invasion and mass terror attack on Israel's Gaza border communities on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel’s ancient history remains a largely taboo topic in the Muslim Arab world, which has denied the historical presence of Jews in the region for decades. Instead, it has portrayed the modern State of Israel as a "Western colonialist outpost" in a predominantly Muslim and Arab Middle East.

While Judea and Samaria remain disputed territories without a political solution, modern Israel has no territorial claims on its Arab neighbors, including Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Even so, conspiracy theories about Israeli plans to “conquer” its Arab neighbors continue to flourish across much of the Middle East.

Israel's official maps unequivocally acknowledge the existence of all Arab states. In stark contrast, many official Arab maps, including those from countries with diplomatic ties to Israel, omit Israel entirely, even within its internationally recognized borders.

Not all reactions from the Arab world to the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s post were negative.

Luay al-Shareef, an Arab influencer who advocates peace and coexistence with Israel, said the Israeli map that was posted was rooted in history. 

“Sound words that are consistent with history, the Quran, the Bible, and archaeology. It is worth noting that millions of Muslims bear the name of the Israelite king and prophet David, son of Yishai, whose historical kingdom’s denial poses a dilemma in the Islamic faith for those who are fanatical about the Palestinian cause,” al-Shareef wrote.