Pamela Geller gives the background:
Back in 2011, AFDI/SIOA submitted pro-Israel ads to run on New York’s subway platform to counter an anti-Israel ad campaign that was running in NYC’s subway stations. They were summarily rejected. Our pro-Israel ad was the only ad ever rejected by the NYC Transit authority in the past 15 years.
We filed a lawsuit back in September of 2011. On April 3rd, we went to court to fight for our first amendment rights. Judge Paul Engelmayer still has not issued his ruling. But the anti-Israel ads go up without interference.
I have contacted CBS Outdoor to run our pro-Israel ads on Metro-North. I have not heard back as of yet.
“Ad Campaign Showing Dwindling Palestinian Territory Deemed “˜Anti-Israel” By Jewish Leaders,” from CBS New York, July 11 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) “” A seemingly endless debate over politics, religion and territory is coming to a train station near you.
WCBS 880″²s Sean Adams On The Story
An explosive ad about Israel is now igniting a firestorm of controversy.
The display shows shrinking Palestinian territory in Israel over the years and refers to 4.7 million Palestinians there as refugees.
The ads are appearing in 50 Metro-North stations.
At the train station in White Plains, the politically-charged ad was raising eyebrows.
“That’s quite amazing if you ask me,” one man told CBS 2″²s Scott Rapoport.
Some Jewish leaders said they were concerned.
“I think the ad is very offensive, it’s certainly offensive to Jews,” said Dovid Efune, the the editor of the Jewish newspaper “The Algemeiner.”
Efune said the ad is anti-Semitic.
“It paints Jews as aggressors, as imperialists, as people that are stealing or taking land from others,” Efune said….
“My reaction is why is there an anti-Israel ad sitting here at the train station?” asked Cliff Argintar, of Hoboken, N.J.
Efune is calling for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to take the ads down. However, the MTA said it doesn’t restrict ads on the basis of viewpoint and while it doesn’t endorse the ad, the posters will remain up….