American TV show Jeopardy says Bethlehem is in Israel, not Palestine

Arab American Institute says show 'owes an apology for endorsing Israel's universally-condemned illegal takeover of Palestinian lands'

Jeopardy, America’s family favourite trivia gameshow, has stirred up anger over the Israel-Palestine conflict after locating the city of Bethlehem on the wrong side of the disputed border between the two territories.

The programme has aired more than 8,000 episodes and identifies itself as “America’s favourite quiz show” – but was criticised for incorrectly locating the city following a question about Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity in the West Bank.

In an episode aired on 10 January contestant Katie Needle answered that the holy site was located in Palestine but was told this was incorrect by host Alex Trebek, and docked $200 in keeping with the rules of the show.

She was quickly followed by Jack McGuire who said the church was in Israel – an answer greeted with the words “that’s it” from the host.

Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, Bethlehem, along with other regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, has been overseen the Palestinian National Authority – while the United Nations has previously identified the church as a world heritage site in Palestine.

And while the nation is not formally recognised by the US, Bethlehem is regarded by the US State Department as part of disputed Palestinian territory.

Omar Baddar, deputy director for non-profit advocacy organisation the Arab American Institute, said the show’s decision to identify Bethlehem as within Isreal was “unacceptable”.

“Bethlehem is in the Palestinian territories which Israel illegally occupies (Katie Needle got the correct answer & was robbed)”, he added on Twitter. “Jeopardy owes an apology for endorsing Israel's universally-condemned illegal takeover of Palestinian lands.”

Miqdaad Versi of the Muslim Council of Britain added the decision was “very poor”, adding “Bethlehem is in Palestine, not Israel. This should not be difficult.”

However, fans of the show noted that following an ad break Ms Needle, who ultimately won the episode, appeared to have been reimbursed the $200 she had lost out on through her answer – although no explanation was given for the decision.

The Independent has reached out to Sony Pictures Entertainment, the producers of Jeopardy, for comment.