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New Anti-Israel Ads Greet NYC Subway Commuters

CBS

New billboards went up across New York City on Wednesday night with a message that could have subway riders doing a double-take.

They’re paid for by a group that wants the U.S. to stop funding for the Israeli military.

CBS 2’s Dave Carlin talked to both sides of this billboard controversy.

The ads greeting subway riders across the city feature smiling dads and kids. Palestinians and Israelis pictured together, with the headline “Be on our side.”

“It says be on our side, so it’s like who’s side are we on?” resident Kayla Sanders said.

That “side” is revealed on a smaller line of the ad.

“‘End U.S. military aid to Israel,’ that is going to cause some controversy,” Jessica Hover said.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the group behind the campaign, “Two People’s, One Future” is pro-Palestinian and is seeking to weaken Israel by having the U.S. cut billions of dollars in military aid to its closest ally in the Middle East.

“I see this as something very, very dangerous,” Hikind said. “This is a one-sided mean-spirited attempt to undermine the security and well being of the people of Israel.

“They say this is for peace. This is not for peace. This is for war.”

New Yorkers got their first look at this campaign on Sept. 5 when the billboards were installed in 18 subway stations. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said it didn’t take long for some complaints to roll in.

Carlin asked the publicly funded MTA why it agreed to the controversial campaign.

“We have specific guidelines for advertising. It cannot promote anything illegal, be obscene or imply the MTA’s endorsement. This campaign adhered to the guidelines,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.

Ethan Vesely-Flad is with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a lead sponsor for the ads in New York.

“This is a voice that needs to be heard,” he said. “We believe that that military aid is actually protracting the conflict between Israel and Palestine instead of working to end it.”

The campaign is spreading across the nation. Assemblyman Hikind and pro-Israeli activists promise they’ll respond with a series of response ads reminding the U.S. to remember its friends and keep supporting them.

Other cities in the “Be on our side” campaign include Chicago, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Boston.

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11 Comments

  • The opposite of safe

    I think a boycott should start on the subway until they remove this ads. This is completely unacceptable!

  • Listen to them

    Do whatever they tell you to do only do it for Israel.

    Go to their site and do whatever they ask you to do.

    If they tell you to email your congressman then email your congressman and tell them that you support Israel.

    If they ask you to email them, email them and tell them that you are pro-Israel.

    If they ask you to donate money donate money to a pro-Israel cause.

    That way their adds will benefit Israel.

  • Free Speech

    They have a right to speak (so complaining to the MTA probably won’t work),
    BUT SO DO WE!

    And we must!

    Whoever reads this article should speak up for Israel in any way you can, contact your congressman, donate, and of course don’t forget to say an extra Kapitel Tehillim.

  • Practical thinker

    Just make large stickers, same font, same color, with the word “increase” and place over the word “end”!

  • Moshe Pipik

    to numbers 1 & 2

    These adverts will only be up for a month, not enough time to boycott or complain.
    A. cover up israel with the word HAMAS.

    B. put the letter S in front of the word end.

  • ceo

    this comes as a wake up call that we didnt do enough before, and that we need to help yidden be stronger, because each one of us can help bring other yidden to be stronger in their yiddishkeit and for non jews to be stronger in their responsibility too

  • Tova

    It’s ridiculous, but it’s free speech. They have every right to do this, and it’s not an hateful advertisement.

    Maybe we can work together and put up a Pro-Israel ad too?

  • Andrea Schonberger

    I must consider freedom of speech even if I personally don’t agree with the message. However, I do feel that the United States should stop giving aid, except humanitarian aid, to other countries. We need all our financial resources for our country especially in times like these.