Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Thank you, San Francisco Supervisor Scott Weiner

Thank you, Supervisors Weiner, Breed, Cohen, Farrell,  Tang and Yee,  and President of the Board Chiu. These seven have taken a principled and moral stand, and have asked the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to donate the proceeds of the highly inflammatory AMP "apartheid" Muni bus ads to the the Human Rights Commission.  The SFMTA has also been asked review their advertising policies to ensure that public transport remains a safe place for all passengers, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political beliefs. Please thank them for their efforts

From an article at the SF Gate Blog

When advertisements went up on Muni buses implying that Muslims are “savages,” the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency donated the revenue from the ad campaign to the Human Rights Commission. Now several supervisors are asking why the same isn’t being done for ads calling Israel an “apartheid” state.
Supervisor Scott Wiener and six of his colleagues sent a letter to MTA Executive Director Ed Reiskin Monday urging the agency to fork over the $5,030 from American Muslims for Palestine to the HRC to “be used to fight growing intolerance alienating the Jewish community.”
“I don’t think the MTA should be accepting dirty money, whether that dirty money comes from anti-Muslim bigots or whether that dirty money comes from enemies of Israel,” said Wiener, who usually never misses an opportunity to bemoan Muni’s lack of funding. “Those ads were vile, these ads are also vile.”
The ads, which run until June 6, read “End Apartheid Now!” and “Stop U.S. Aid to Israel.”
Please thank the seven Supervisors who have signed the SFMTA statement.
Scott Wiener, Supervisor, District 8, (415) 554-6968

London Breed, Supervisor, District 5, (415) 554-7630
Malia Cohen, Supervisor, District 10, (415) 554-7670

Mark Farrell, Supervisor, District 2, (415) 554-7752

Katy Tang, Supervisor, District 4, (415) 554-7460

Norman Yee, Supervisor, District 7, (415) 554-6516

David Chiu, Supervisor, District 3 and President of the Board, (415) 554-7450

The following members have not yet signed the statement. Please give them a call, and let them know how these ads defame the only democracy in the Middle east, and create an uncomfortable environment for those using public transit. Our beautiful city by the Bay should not become another battleground for the wars in the Middle East

John Avalos, Supervisor, District 11, (415) 554-6975

David Campos, Supervisor, District 9, (415) 554-5144

Jane Kim, Supervisor, District 6, (415) 554-7970

Eric Mar, Supervisor, District 1, (415) 554-7410


3 comments:

Joseph said...

Why the outrage? Israel is an apartheid AND racist state. The only democracy in the M..E? For the Palestinians too?

Dusty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dusty said...

Do you have any idea what Apartheid even means?

The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Meshoe does. He lived in apartheid South Africa. He wrote:

"I believe that it is slanderous and deceptive for Israel’s self-defense measures against the terrorists’ campaign of suicide bombing, rocket attacks and other acts of terrorism that have occurred, and continue to occur, to be labeled as apartheid. I am shocked by the claim that the free, diverse, democratic state of Israel practices apartheid. This ridiculous accusation trivializes the word apartheid, minimizing and belittling the magnitude of the racism and suffering endured by South Africans of color."

Why do you think you know more of the nature of apartheid than someone who lived and suffered under it?