Jordan denies rumor that school maps will show Israel

Israel's Channel 10 was reported to have stated yesterday that Jordan decided to allow the word "Israel" to appear on maps in geography classes at schools. The news was accompanied by analysis by "experts" about how this means that Jordan is trying to show it is moderate to the West, or that it is trying to de-emphasize the Israel-Arab conflict in the face of the threats from ISIS.

The rumor was instantly denounced by Arabic media. Jordan's Ad Dustour called to tear out any mention of Israel from the books and "place them where they belong, in the dustbin of history."

Today, Jordan's education ministry flatly denied the story. The Education Minister said it was completely untrue and that Israel does not appear in any Jordanian school materials at all.

Whew!

It turns out that Jordan's education ministry did do something last year that was almost as controversial.

A school textbook called "Jews Do Not Honor Charters and Covenants" was pulled from school libraries, eliciting protests from Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups.