Apple’s stepped in the political mud once again with its decision to block and then accept a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli game into its app store. Apple first attempted to say the game was not a game, but then backed down after online pressure.
The game Liyla & The Shadows of War lets you play as a Gazan fleeing Israeli rockets in the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict. Some of the controversial elements in the game include fictionalized scenes depicting an Israeli battleship blowing a group of children to bits with a missile and an Israeli missile targeting an ambulance.
MORE: Even After Tax Breaks, Trump Asks Broke Chicago Schools for ‘Refund’
Apple first tried to get the game classified in “News and Noteworthy,” as the company tries to avoid political controversy in its gaming section.
From the app store guidelines:
We view Apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate. If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical App. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store.
Apple’s rules regarding political games are ill defined and nebulous. Apple previously banned apps with confederate flags, which unsurprisingly included Civil War games, before reinstating some of them.
In 2013 Apple blocked Endgame: Syria which aimed to educate players about the civil war in that country. The game had to remove all real place names in order to reenter the app store.
Apple’s decision to overturn its decision for Liyla is certainly rare and may be a way to give in to attitudes of political correctness with regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The violence against children in Liyla clearly goes against Apple’s own policy regarding App Store violence. The hugely popular game, The Binding of Isaac, was blocked for that exact reason.
