Muhammad topped the list of most popular baby names, according to reports by The New York Times and The Times Of Israel, but other publications, such as Haaretz and Arutz Sheva (Israel National News) have reported that Yosef is the most common boy's name for Israeli boys born this year.
Who is right and what does this say about Arab/Israeli relations?
The official list released by the Population and Immigration Authority of Israel omitted the top name, Muhammad, reported Haaretz. Haaretz was the first to call out the omission, calling it "another form of racism, which in Israel has become institutionalized and self-evident," the Times reported.
The New York Times also reported that while the Arab minority constitutes 21 percent of Israel, the number of newborn boys named after the Muslim prophet is almost double that of the most popular girl's names. Baby boys named Muhammad totaled 1,986 while the top girl name, Tamar, came in at 1,092.
Israel's Population and Immigration Authority Spokesperson Sabine Haddad called the omission a misunderstanding. She said the list was of Hebrew names, as its release was timed with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
"There was no intention, no political intention," Haddad said, according to the Times. "When journalists called me and asked for the whole list, they received the whole list. It's not that we hide that."
