Under pressure, Guinness World Records lifts Israeli boycott

UK-based publisher of iconic reference book reverses its ban on entries from Israel after pro-Israel legal group warned the move likely violated British anti-discrimination laws.

By World Israel News Staff

The UK-based publisher of the iconic Guinness World Records books (formerly known outside of Britain as The Guinness Book of World Records) has lifted its ban on entries from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, after a group of British attorneys warned that the ban could violate the country’s anti-discrimination laws.

In November 2023, one month after the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, Guinness World Records Ltd. quietly stopped accepting submissions for inclusion in the company’s publications, citing the war in the Gaza Strip.

Submissions from the Palestinian Authority and Gaza were also excluded.

However, the policy was not made public until late last year, when the Israeli NGO Matnat Chaim (Hebrew for “Gift of Life”) revealed that Guinness had rejected its submission for inclusion with its mass donation of 2,000 kidneys.

The ban meant Guinness was “not generally processing” record applications where Israel, Gaza, or the Palestinian Authority were listed as the attempt location, unless attempts were conducted in cooperation with a United Nations humanitarian aid relief agency.

In response, the group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) filed a complaint with Guinness, accusing the company of unlawful discrimination against Israelis and Palestinians under the 2010 Equality Act.

Guinness initially rejected the claim, stating that the pause was based on location rather than nationality or ethnicity, and therefore did not engage a protected characteristic under UK law.

The company declined to answer wider questions about consistency with its diversity commitments or whether branding its publications as World Records remained accurate while submissions from parts of the world were excluded.

The dispute escalated in December when UKLFI warned Guinness that the policy exposed the company to significant legal risk.

UKLFI argued that the exclusion amounted to indirect discrimination and that continuing to market publications under the title Guinness World Records while omitting records set in Israel or the Palestinian Authority could constitute an unfair commercial practice under consumer protection law.

The lawyers also warned that the practice could jeopardize the validity of Guinness’s registered trademarks, noting that trademarks may be revoked if their use becomes misleading to the public.

In January, Guinness responded that while it maintains that its suspension had been lawful, the company has now lifted the ban and will accept submissions from Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The company emphasized that despite the suspension, several records set in Israel had in fact been recognized since November 2023.

“Guinness World Records’ decision to resume accepting submissions from Israel and the Palestinian territories is welcome,” said Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel.

“Excluding particular countries carries serious legal and commercial risks. Global organizations cannot present themselves as neutral and inclusive while applying exceptional policies to certain countries, particularly where this misleads consumers and disadvantages entire populations.”