Disney Exhibit Displeases Jews, Muslims

Walt Disney World opened its Israel exhibit at Epcot Center on Friday with both Jews and Muslims unhappy over its depiction of Jerusalem.

The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith complained that the exhibit doesn’t celebrate Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Muslim groups said it wrongly depicts Jerusalem as a unified city.

Dozens of Muslims protested outside the park, carrying banners reading “Israeli Exhibit of Falsehood” and “Disney and Israel--Partnership for Propaganda.”

Inside the park, a delegation of Arab Americans toured the exhibit with Disney officials. The group later said it would demand a Palestinian exhibit be added to the park’s 24-country Millennium Village, a new temporary display.

Disney spokesman Bill Warren said officials needed time to evaluate the request.

Two Arab nations--Morocco and Saudi Arabia--are among the countries represented in the Millennium Village. The exhibits were partly paid for by the countries themselves.

Disney did everything it could to avoid politics when it designed its exhibits, said Linda Warren, Walt Disney World’s senior vice president of marketing and brand management. “What we’re trying to do here is showcase cultures,” she said.

But in Israel, politics and culture can be hard to separate.

Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War, annexed it and claimed the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians want the eastern part of the city to be the capital of their future state.

The issue is so thorny that most countries, including the U.S., have their embassies in Tel Aviv.

“Our problem is not with Disney itself, but Disney has chosen to be on the wrong side in this instance,” said Khalid Turaani, executive director of the Washington-based group American Muslims for Jerusalem. It is boycotting Disney over the Israel exhibit.

Arab foreign ministers had considered a Disney boycott but decided against it last week. Walt Disney World President Al Weiss met with Arab and Muslim leaders in Washington several weeks ago to discuss their concerns.

The Israel exhibit includes a 30-foot replica of the Western Wall and scenes of modern-day Israel. Videos tell the stories of Abraham, King David, the Roman conquest and the exile of Jews from Israel, as well as the rise of Islam in the 7th century and how Jerusalem became a holy city for Judaism, Islam and Christianity.