Israel shown on map during "Arab Idol," Arabs freak out

During an episode of the popular "Arab Idol" singing competition shown on Saudi Arabia's MBC, this shocking graphic was briefly shown:

Oh. My. Allah. 

That evil word, the One Whose Name Must Not Be Said, was shown, in English, for a couple of seconds on Arab TV!

The audience went into full rabid conspiracy mode, of course. People accused Saudi Arabia of "normalizing" relations with Israel. Internet activists demanded a boycott of MBC.

Hundreds showed their indignation on Twitter with the hashtag "اسمها_فلسطين" meaning "It's called Palestine." Here is the reaction of one angry tweeter:

I'm boycotting Arab idol because #اسمها_فلسطين pic.twitter.com/h55jv7Anb2
— Nadia (@nadiadaniali) September 8, 2014

Palestinian singers made a video demanding an apology, even though their own government recognizes Israel.



The show immediately apologized for what they said was a technical error. The map was briefly shown during a montage video segment showing all the places that auditions were held. It was "corrected" immediately so even the same montage when shown later did not have the hugely offensive word "Israel."

"Deranged" is too mild a word to describe the insane reaction to this kerfuffle.

Hatred of Israel provides the few tiny particles of unity that still exist in the Arab world.