Billboard Wars, Vancouver: Prologue

We've seen over time how anti-Israel groups are determined to bring the wars of the Middle East into our public transit system and how nonprofit Israel Advocacy group StandWithUs is determined to counter them.   

In Vancouver, Canada there may have been an interim step.  The notoriously inaccurate 4 part Maps of Disappearing Palestine went up and came down rather unexpectedly, over and over again.  According to a press release circulated by anti-Israel activists Marty Roth and Charlotte Kates of the Palestine Awareness Coalition,  the lying sacks of crap  posters went AWOL on three separate occasions.

Oops.

VANCOUVER, October 10, 2013 – The “Disappearing Palestine” wall mural displayed at a Canada Line SkyTrain station was stolen by vandals for the third time overnight on October 9, shortly after it was replaced following two earlier thefts. The ad, part of a campaign by the Palestine Awareness Coalition, has been running since August 27.

 The Skytrain ad was vandalized previously on the weekends of September 21 and October 5, when it was also stolen from the station by unknown vandals who appear to have scraped the ad from the walls.

 The ad has been re-posted again. The Coalition is not aware of any suspects being identified in the repeated thefts.

In the Bay Area, we've seen pro-Israel material regularly vandalized. 

Vandalized Berkeley Bus Shelter poster

Vandalized Berkeley Bus Shelter poster

But rather than emulate the fetid tactics of our opposition,  pro-Israel activists should consider taking positive steps. Consider, for example contributing to the work of BlueStar or StandWithUs, both excellent organizations that work hard to share Israel's side of the story.

Billboard Wars, Vancouver edition: The season finale

From StandwithUs, an international non-profit organization, dedicated to informing the public about Israel and to combating  extremism and anti-Semitism.

StandWithUs [SWU] is placing posters in ten TransLink stations to counter the misinformation of anti-Israel posters currently at these sites and on buses in Vancouver.  The StandWithUs ads will run beginning the week of October 14 until November 14, 2013.

StandWithUs, the international Israel education organization, opened its first Canadian chapter in Toronto in 2012, with community leader Meryle Kates as executive director. Though StandWithUs has countered anti-Israel transit ads in the U.S. since 2007, this is the first time the organization has posted ads in Canada.

StandWithUs will display two different posters. 

 One depicts Jewish loss of land from Biblical times to the present by juxtaposing a map of the ancient Jewish kingdom circa 1000 BCE, a map of the land designated as the Jewish homeland by the League of Nations in 1920, and a map of the much smaller Israel of today.

Jewish Loss of land

The second ad, with pictures of Israeli and Canadian children waving their national flags, celebrates the shared values and freedom both countries enjoy. 

They will run on the Canada Line - Waterfront, Vancouver City Station, and Yaletown and on the SkyTrain - Commercial Station.

The SWU ads will counter the map posters sponsored by the Palestine Awareness Coalition (PAC) which depict a “disappearing Palestine,” with Israel appearing to expand into the West Bank.

“The anti-Israel ads distort facts. We have already encountered these particular 'map' ads in the U.S.  They presume there once was an Arab country called 'Palestine' when in fact no such country ever existed prior to the one being considered today.  Conversely, there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the land of Israel for 3 millenia, and the League of Nations recognized the Jews' historical connection to the land which is why it carved out the Palestine Mandate as the Jewish homeland,” explained Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.

In reality, it is the Jewish state that has steadily gotten smaller.  It reached its largest extent during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon when it stretched into Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.  In 1920, the League of Nations designated present-day Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, and the Golan Heights as the Jewish homeland.  But over the decades, Israel shrank to its present size and is only 9 miles wide at its narrowest point and 290 miles long.

“As usual, the anti-Israel ad campaign tries to undermine North American support for Israel by misrepresenting its history.  Now the campaigners have moved to Canada in an effort to erode Canada's strong support for the Jewish state.   Many community members have been frustrated with the anti-Israel rhetoric on campuses and in the community and requested that we respond.  The StandWithUs posters balance the propaganda with the facts.  They also remind Canadians of the shared values and many benefits of Canada's steadfast alliance with Israel.  "I am proud to be with StandWithUs, an organization working to correct misrepresentations about Israel with the facts,” commented Meryle Kates, StandWithUs Canada executive director.

The anti-Israel billboard campaigns began in the U.S. and for the past six years, StandWithUs has countered each one.  SWU ran ads several times in San Francisco and New York City; Houston, Texas; Missoula, and Helena, Montana; Washington, DC; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chicago, Denver, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

“StandWithUs will not allow anti-Israel campaigns to go unanswered, no matter where they appear.  Our goal is to set the record straight, and to inform the public about Israel's challenges and extraordinary achievements in helping make the world a better place,” concluded Rothstein.

In which The Free Palestine movement whines

Awww. The hapless Free Palestine Movement's billboard request was denied, and they are upset. Likely  FPM will eventually find a different vendor with less meticulous standards to display their propaganda, but in the meanwhile,  thank you, CBS Outdoors, and thank you Reed Saunders for your good judgement. 

From the free Palestine movement:

Dear Friends of Palestine,

The following message concerns a project that we are supporting with your donations and especially the donations specifically earmarked for billboards and other advertising.

The FPM Team

CBS Outdoor Billboard Censorship

    "A lobby is like a night flower: It thrives in the dark and dies in the light.” – former AIPAC foreign policy director Steve Rosen

CBS Outdoor has shown itself to be an arm of the Israel lobby, if there was any doubt. 

 When Beth Daoud of the Colorado BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Campaign first approached CBS Outdoor about leasing space to express a message critical of Israel's human rights abuses of Palestinians, she received a rather strange response.  "That's fine," said Reed Saunders, the CBS Outdoor sales rep, "but our requirements are that you must not use the words "Israel" or "Jew".

 With that challenge, Beth's group paired with No Tax Dollars To Israel, a tax exempt nonprofit organization that advocates withholding tax money and exemptions from abusers of human rights, including the state of Israel.  Together, they came up with the wording "Want peace? Stop ethnic cleansing in Palestine."  Beth sent it to Saunders and got approval.

 The partnering groups then chose the design and illustration to go with the wording, submitted a final copy to Saunders, and waited.  And waited.

 Nearly two weeks went by before Saunders replied, "I'm sorry to report that the billboard design was not approved and will not be accepted. No explanation was given, nor am I expecting one."

 The explanation is not needed.  CBS Outdoor also removed billboards in southern California that advocated stopping aid to Israel.  The Israel lobby has also worked overtime to prevent similar ads from seeing the light of day in Seattle, New York and other locations.

 Rest assured that you have not heard the last of this story.  We will not rest until this ad is displayed for all to see.

Wishing the Free Palestine Movement many more sleepless nights.

Its All Israel's fault

Colony Collapse Disorder. Global Warming. The Collapse of the I-5 Bridge.

Its all Israel's fault.

Blaming Israel for the collapse of the I-5 Bridge.

A very special group of haters, Spokane Veterans for Peace claims responsibility for the billboard

From their Website:

Spokane Veterans for Peace, Chapter 35, has funded the placement of a 14′ x 48′ billboard facing westbound on I-90, between Cour d Alene and Post Falls, Idaho, urging that we “Stop $30 Billion to Israel”. This was a joint collaboration with an anonymous matching funder who has helped place dozens of similar billboards across the country, many of them sponsored by local Veterans for Peace chapters.

Its another in the ongoing saga of "billboard wars" . Perhaps StandWithUs, an Israel education group will counter it with a series highlighting Israel's gifts to the world?  They've done it before  StandWithUs has countered anti-Israel ads placed throughout the United States since 2007 including six times in San Francisco, three times in New York, twice in Montana; Denver, Washington DC, Portland, Albuquerque, Houston (in cooperation with Bridge Houston), Chicago and Seattle.

From StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein

  "Anti-Israel groups continue to misinform the public with these ad campaigns.  Their ads fail to inform viewers that the funds Israel receives are earmarked primarily for defense with contracts to US manufacturers thereby creating jobs in America.  They fail to mention that Israel must defend itself militarily against a radical Islamist enemy like Hamas, openly sworn to Israel's destruction.   As with all the anti-Israel campaigns we've encountered, context and facts are always left out.  The SWU ad directs people to www.sayyestopeace.org which offers relevant information about the impediments to peace." 
 

Billboard Wars hit Middle America

The Israel/ Palestine conflict has moved to the sides of buses and alongside roadways across America.  The latest skirmish in the Billboard Wars  hails from Missoula, Montana, and was once again initiated by the notorious  Council for the National interest

From the Missoula Independent

 Soon after a pensive-looking cowboy popped up on a billboard alongside Interstate 90 between the Orange and Reserve street exits two months ago, the phones started ringing at the Har Shalom synagogue in Missoula.

 "We got calls from people in the community, non-Jews as well," says Har Shalom Board of Directors President Bert Chessin.

 It wasn't the cowboy that got the phones ringing. It was the message the middle-aged man wearing a 10-gallon hat appeared to be pondering: "$8 million a day to Israel just doesn't make sense!"...

 The message, however, hit a nerve. Chessin, for one, says the billboard is one-sided and superficial, as well as anti-Israel. Aiming to reclaim the battlefield of public opinion, Har Shalom mobilized and joined forces with Stand With Us, an international nonprofit based out of Los Angeles, to promote its own message.

 SWU educates about Israel and, according to its website, combats "the extremism and anti-Semitism that often distorts the issues." SWU's Gary Ratner says his organization commonly encounters messages like the one in Missoula. "It's called 'BDS ' boycott, divestment and sanction," he says. "It's an attempt to undermine American support for Israel and the joint values that we hold."

 When alerted to such efforts, SWU counters with its own themes, fueling a public relations war that's played out on buses, billboards and in train stations across the country. Typically the skirmishes occur in progressive strongholds such as San Francisco, Portland and New York, but now it's stretched to Missoula.

 This week, after the Council for the National Interest's billboard contract expired, Har Shalom and SWU paid to erect a new billboard in the same location. For the next two months, rather than the pensive cowboy, commuters heading east on I-90 will see the following message: "Tell Congress Not to Support Palestinian Groups like Hamas, because they don't want peace."

 "We felt that [the other billboard] shouldn't go unanswered," Chessin says.

The Council for the National Interest has sponsored delegations that have met with terror groups, Hamas and Hezbollah  and is led by Alison Weir, a noted conspiracy theorist whose work has been profiled on the website of former KKK leader, David Duke. 

American Muslims for Palestine Joins Billboard Wars

Hatem Bazian is one of the founders of  American Muslims for Palestine. You may remember him  infamously called for an  intifada in America

"Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Are you angry? [Yeah!] Well, we've been watching intifada in Palestine, we've been watching an uprising in Iraq, and the question is that what are we doing? How come we don't have an intifada in this country? Because it seem[s] to me, that we are comfortable in where we are, watching CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox, and all these mainstream... giving us a window to the world while the world is being managed from Washington, from New York, from every other place in here in San Francisco: Chevron, Bechtel, [Carlyle?] Group, Halliburton; every one of those lying, cheating, stealing, deceiving individuals are in our country and we're sitting here and watching the world pass by, people being bombed, and it's about time that we have an intifada in this country that change[s] fundamentally the political dynamics in here. And we know every-- They're gonna say some Palestinian being too radical -- well, you haven't seen radicalism yet!" 

The extremist organization had previously emphasized indoctrinating students and recently held a  training session for high school students.   Nearly 200 students from grades 10 to 12 attended workshops on  such topics as the "Islamic significance of Palestine".

American Muslims for Palestine is branching out as the latest participant in the Billboard wars. Their current entry, now in 25 New York Metro stations spreads the egregious "Apartheid" lie, as it calls for the end to aid for America's closest ally in the Middle East

This ad campaign isn't simply about  25 ads- its accompanied by a rather well oiled PR campaign, timed to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Passover  to prevent opposing voices.   Speaking at the press conference   were Raja Abulhaq, president of AMP-NY; Lamis Deek, director of Al Awda-NY; Abi Hassan of the National Lawyers Guild; Felice Gillman of Wespac Foundation and Michael Letwin of Jews for the Palestinian Right of Return.  

Following the formal press conference, AMP called for a twitter onslaught on members of the mainstream media.   

UPDATE:

Throwing even more fuel onto the fire, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Institute) has developed a series of ads to counter those posted by the American Muslims for Palestine

Billboard Wars Redux. The Sacramento edition

Curiouser and Curiouser.  The original announcement from the Free Palestine Movement  largely took credit for the anti-Israel billboard that went up on I 50 near Sacramento, and even requested that donations to be sent to the FPM  "office"- which just happens to be Paul Larudee's home.  It follows:

 

Here is the new billboard, paid with your donations.  It is viewed from US-50 westbound, just before it meets with I-80, southwest of Sacramento, which is a section of the main highway belt of the city, receiving major traffic.

As you can see, the billboard was designed to appeal to persons not particularly informed about the issue, and not even necessarily sympathetic to Palestine.  This is deliberate: there is no point trying to win people who already sympathize with us.  The billboard has been up for two weeks now, and will remain for another two weeks or more.  It connects to a website that offers additional information and is another donation site.

  As we previously announced, our coalition is taking the campaign national, and we expect to announce additional advertisements in other states before long, subject to your donations.  Please continue to support our work by sending your tax-exempt check to the address below, or go to our website www.freepalestinemovement.org/donate.html and donate on line.  It’s tax deductible either way, and we encourage you to sign up for automatic monthly payments to assure continuous funding.  If you are sending a check you can mail it to:

 

FPM (Bus Ad Campaign)

405 Vista Heights Rd.  El Cerrito, CA 94530

 

But now a "clarification" has been issued.  From the FPM team:

To clarify our earlier message below: the Free Palestine Movement is proud to have provided the funds for the Sacramento billboard. We are not the sponsors, however, of this billboard or of this new Stop the Blank Check campaign.  The sponsors are the Council for the National Interest and If Americans Knew.

If you want to donate directly to the Stop the Blank Check campaign to educate the American public via billboards and other media, please send your contribution directly to either of these organizations, with a note specifying that these are for the Stop the Blank Check campaign

What comes to mind is the adage "No honor among thieves".  Paul Larudee has found himself on the outs with other activists before.   In an open letter to Paul, anti-Israel activist Lubna  Masarwa accused him of falsely taking credit for the  Welcome to Palestine campaign

You have appeared in the media over the last week, often stating that
you organized the Welcome to Palestine campaign. All statements you
have made in regards to this campaign were false.

While our not so esteemed opponents are duking it out over who takes credit for what failed project, there is some positive news from the pro-Israel side.

StandWithUs (SWU) is countering anti-Israel billboards by placing its own ad beginning November 5 for three weeks. The SWU ad encourages the public to "Tell Congress Not to Support Palestinian Groups Like Hamas Because They Don't Want Peace." It specifically targets an anti-Israel billboard that calls for ending military aid to Israel. The 12x50 foot billboard will be visible on Interstate 80 near Harbor Boulevard exit.

"We cannot allow the public to be misled by the factual distortions in yet another anti-Israel campaign. The anti-Israel ads try to undermine American support for Israel by misrepresenting Israel and its history. They leave out the real reason Israel needs to defend itself, which are ongoing threats from terrorist cells in the West Bank, from the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, and from the existential threats from countries such as Iran. They leave out the numerous times Israel has given up land for peace - such as in Gaza in 2005 when, in exchange, Israel ended up with thousands of rockets fired at its southern communities, with Hamas claiming responsibility,” states Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.

"Most Americans are aware that Israel is on the front lines of terrorism, and know that the military aid the small country receives helps to protect its citizens. They know that the real injustice is that Palestinian Arab leaders have rejected all territorial compromises for peace and refuse to continue direct negotiations. SWU is gratified that the majority of Americans do not subscribe to the agenda of these misguided anti-Israel groups who sponsor the ads, and who, in effect, help the extremists whose goal is to destroy the only Democracy in the Middle East.  Most Americans recognize that Israel is at the forefront of advances in technology, conservation and humanitarian programs that have benefited the world. They understand that constructive exchanges are the best hope for peaceful coexistence," states Gail Rubin, StandWithUs Sacramento/Davis Area Coordinator.

StandWithUs has countered every anti-Israel billboard that has appeared in the United States since 2007, whether they called for ending military aid to Israel or used maps that distort the region's history. SWU countered anti-Israel billboards displayed in San Francisco and Berkeley BART stations and Muni buses five times in 2011-12; in one instance by highlighting Israel's achievements in AIDS research and water conservation. On October 22, 2012, SWU placed two ads in Portland, Oregon light rail and buses for a total of 19 that stress Israel's quest for peace. In July 2012, SWU placed six ads in 75 locations in New York's Metro-North stations to counter posters of maps that misrepresent Israel's history.

A Controversial New Player in our local Billboard Wars

This won't go over well.

In the Bay Area, the "progressive" community often resorts to fascist tactics to suppress anything that paints Israel in a positive light.

A poster talking about a revolutionary new treatment for HIV with the potential to save countless lives world wide was recently vandalized. Why? Because this innovative new procedure was developed by an Israeli team.




Israeli food is vandalized routinely.




Kosher food from Virginia that reminds the fascist brown shirts of Israeli food is vandalized routinely.



It makes me wonder how the anti-Israel forces will react to this ad, appearing on MUNI buses throughout San Francisco, for the next four weeks.



Financed by Pam Geller, whose organization Stop Islamization of America
is considered a hate group by the venerable Southern Poverty Law Center these ads are sure to provoke a reaction.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE:

Annie Robbins, a Bay area "writer at Large for Mondoweiss, a mother, a human rights activist and a ceramic artist" is now encouraging people to vandalize the ads.



Classy. Even by Mondoweiss standards.

Billboard Wars. The Ann Arbor Edition

This weeks chapter in the ongoing saga of Billboard Wars takes place in Ann Arbor Michigan. Blaine Coleman, a notorious anti-Israel activist has sued the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority after they rejected his ads captioned "Boycott Israel. Boycott Apartheid,"



AATA policy states that the company reserves the right to approve all advertising and “all advertising must be considered in good taste and shall uphold the aesthetic standards as determined by AATA.” Company spokespeople have stated that Coleman's ad would make people uncomfortable and have a "negative impact" on ridership. Coleman, clearly an individual of profound sensitivities claims to have suffered mental anguish and distress as a result of AATA’s decision.

Coleman is no stranger to controversy. He was arrested after he walked into an on Ann Arbor City Council meeting carrying a sign that read “F— Israel” and stood in front of a group of visiting Boy Scouts from a local elementary School. He has been forced out of local Palestinian advocacy groups because of his behavior.



Read more about Coleman and the Ann Arbor hate Israel cru here . Curious about what Blaine Coleman has to say for himself? You can start with this line, posted in Counterpunch July 12, 2012 "...no Israeli state, big or small, will be allowed to exist." Nope, not one of the moderates.