ORLANDO, Fla. -- Walt Disney World unveiled a controversial Israeli exhibit Friday that has provoked anger and boycott threats from Arabs and Muslims over whether it portrayed the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The display, one of 24 national exhibits at the Millennium Village at Disney's Epcot theme park, referred to Jerusalem as "the heart of the Israeli people." Despite Arab suspicions, it did not refer to the Holy City as Israel's capital, nor was there any reference to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war when the Jewish state captured Arab East Jerusalem.But Arab cultural and political representatives were still unhappy with the exhibit and said they would press ahead with a boycott and demand that Disney add a Palestinian component to its millennium celebration.
"The exhibit depicts East Jerusalem as an integral part of the Israeli state," said Taleb Salhab of the Arab American Community Center in Florida. "The entire footage depicts Jerusalem as this city where people of all faiths can worship, and that just isn't true. Christian and Muslim Palestinians are routinely denied entry into the city."
The ancient city -- sacred to billions of Jews, Muslims and Christians -- is claimed by Israel, the Palestinians and others as a spiritual homeland. Arabs call Israel's annexation illegal, and Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their future capital.
Critics had claimed the $1.8 million exhibit, organized by the Israeli government, depicted Jerusalem as Israel's capital and furthers its political agenda.
Walt Disney World President Al Weiss said that was a "serious misconception," which led company officials to meet last week with foreign ministers of the 22-nation Arab League. "Typically, you don't see us do that before an attraction opens," he told Reuters.
American Muslims for Jerusalem, which claims 50,000 members, is one of several Arab cultural and political groups urging a boycott of Walt Disney Co. because of the exhibit.
"Our problem is not with what the exhibit shows but with what the exhibit fails to show," said Khalid Turaani, executive director of American Muslims for Jerusalem. "Jerusalem is a city under Israeli military occupation. The city is being ethnically cleansed of its Muslim population."
He said the exhibit inaccurately portrays Islamic beliefs.
The Arab groups said they wanted to meet with Disney officials. Weiss would not commit to that, saying the company would "evaluate any requests on a case-by-case basis."
He said Disney would not publicly respond to demands that the exhibit be changed. "The process we go though developing an attraction is a proprietary process," he said. "It's a competitive process, and we're not going to talk about it."
An Israeli spokesman would not say whether any references to Jerusalem as the nation's capital were expunged as a result of the pressure.
Visitors to the exhibit can use interactive tools to learn about the city and watch a film that touts Jerusalem as a city "filled with great stories told by people of many faiths."