French Magazine Recalled for Publishing Israel ‘Not a Real Country’

A French magazine was removed from newsstands for writing that some countries don’t consider Israel a “real country.”

By: AP and United with Israel Staff

A French children’s magazine called Youpi has been withdrawn from newsstands after it admitted a “mistake” in writing that Israel wasn’t a “real country.”

The January edition of the monthly contains a map of the world with the following caption: “We call these 197 countries states, like France, Germany or Algeria. There are some more, but all the other countries of the world are not willing to say that these are real countries (eg the State of Israel or North Korea ).”

The news editor for Youpi, a magazine for children from 5 to 8, told The Associated Press on Tuesday the January issue was being removed from kiosk sales in France and Belgium after writing that Israel was among a few states in the world that aren’t “real countries.”

The editor Bertrand Fichou said he humbly apologizes for the mistake and that his intention wasn’t to challenge the legitimacy of the state of Israel.

He said, “I’ll blame myself for it all my life.”

The two-sentence text caused an uproar on social media, and French Jewish group CRIF asked the publisher to remove the January issue from sales racks.

The organization also requested that the magazine publish in its next issue a notice of correction and an article explaining what Israel is and how and why it was born.