Israel Matzav

New StandWithUs posters released

Some of you may recall that I reported last week on some anti-Israel posters that were placed in MetroNorth stations in suburban New York. When you go back to work on Monday,

StandWithUS will be countering those ads. The StandWithUs billboard campaign will highlight Israel's history, its gifts to the world, and underscore the Palestinians' refusal to say yes to peace.

One StandWithUs billboard informs viewers that the land of Israel, renamed Palestine by the conquering Romans in 135 CE, has been the Jewish homeland for over 3,000 years. A second billboard features a picture of the Bible along with the tagline, "According to this 3,000-year-old best seller, Israel is the Jewish homeland." The third visually details how Palestinians have said no to territorial compromise and peace repeatedly since 1937. A fourth billboard underlines the fact that Israel saves water through cutting-edge water conservation technology that is being exported around the world. The fifth shows how Israeli technology helps Americans, in part by creating American jobs. The sixth shows a Palestinian and Israeli boy hugging, reminding viewers that Israel Needs a Partner for Peace and urging the Palestinian leaders to accept Israel as its Jewish neighbor. Viewers will be directed to learn more at either www.sayyestopeace.org or www.onlyisrael.org.

"We cannot allow the public to be misled by the factual distortions in yet another anti-Israel campaign. We are committed to countering anti-Israel campaigns whenever they appear," stated Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.

“Anti-Israel activists continuously try to undermine American support for Israel with campaigns that misrepresent Israel and its history. The anti-Israel ads are a shocking distortion of history. The message presumes there once was an Arab Palestine, when in fact no such country ever existed. As two of our billboards point out, this region has been recognized as the Jewish homeland for over 3,000 years. Our billboards will show some of the documentation to prove this fact-- the Arch of Titus in Rome, as well as the Bible. Our billboards will focus on the real Israel--its vibrancy, creativity, and humanitarianism--and underscore that Israel is on the forefront, working alongside the U.S., of making the world a better place," explained Rothstein.

"The founding of modern Israel was an act of historical justice. The injustice is that Palestinian Arabs have continued to reject all territorial compromises for peace. That’s why one of our billboards will detail the number of times that Palestinians have said no to territorial compromise and peace," stated Avi Posnick, regional coordinator of the New York chapter of StandWithUs. "Our billboard campaigns highlight how just Israel’s founding was, how MUCH it has sought peace with its neighbors, and how it is fulfilling its goal of helping people around the world."

Anti-Israel groups have repeatedly tried to undermine American support for Israel through misinformation campaigns like the NY/Westchester billboards, and StandWithUs has countered these anti-Israel billboards wherever they've appeared. In September 2011 SWU countered 25 anti-Israel billboards placed in New York's subway stations with 25 billboards that informed the public that "Israel Needs a Partner for Peace." StandWithUs billboards that displayed the message "Teach Peace, Not Hate" appeared in 2007 and 2009 in Washington, DC, Albuquerque, and Houston (in cooperation with the organization Bridge Houston). In 2010 SWU countered an anti-Israel billboard campaign in Chicago's transit system stations, and allied with other groups to successfully persuade Seattle's Metro Transit to reject proposed billboards with inflammatory, anti-Israel accusations. SWU countered anti-Israel billboards displayed in San Francisco and Berkeley BART stations four times in 2011-12, and placed billboards in Denver in April 2012 that promoted the story of "Baby Israela, delivered by Israeli medics in Haiti," and conveyed the message that "Israel saves lives." StandWithUs dropped plans to counter anti-Israel billboards in Los Angeles in June 2012 when the billboard company, CBS Outdoor, pulled the anti-Israel billboards after one week because the campaigners misused CBS Outdoor's name.

"Anti-Israel activists continue to display their typical negative billboards, which omit the Palestinian responsibility for the stalled peace process. We will continue to set the record straight, which we do in all our work, and we will inform the public about Israel's achievements in helping to make the world a better place," stated Posnick.

"We hope that those who publicize misinformation about Israel understand that every time they do, we will be there to inform the public," affirmed Rothstein.

I'll try to post the posters tomorrow.

Labels: anti-Semitism, bus advertisements, StandWithUs

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:41 AM