'Jerusalem' emoji glitch in iPhone sparks row: Apple vows to fix 'bug' suggesting Palestinian flag

Apple on Thursday pledged to address a software glitch that caused a Palestinian flag emoji to be recommended to some iPhone users when typing "Jerusalem" in messages. The Silicon Valley giant attributed the issue to a bug and assured that it was unintentional.

Apple stated that the predictive emoji suggestion on the iPhone keyboard would be rectified in the next update to its mobile operating system. The incident sparked allegations of anti-Israel bias against Apple amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The glitch was highlighted on social media by British television presenter Rachel Riley, reigniting discussions about the rightful claim to Jerusalem as the capital by Israel and Palestinians.

"When I type the capital of Israel, Jerusalem, I'm offered the Palestinian flag emoji," Riley wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, calling on Apple to explain.

She highlighted that no flag emojis were suggested when various other capital cities were entered into iPhone messages.

"Showing double standards with respect to Israel is a form of antisemitism, which is itself a form of racism against Jewish people," Riley contended in the post.

She noted that the Palestinian flag emoji started appearing in association with Jerusalem following a recent update of the iPhone operating system.

Riley signed her post "a Jewish woman concerned about the global rise in antisemitism."