- Technology Report
- Health Report
- Education Report
- Economics Report
- Arts & Culture
- Ask a Teacher
- Words And Their Stories
- AS IT IS
- Everyday Grammar
- This is America
- Science in the News
- In the News
- American Stories
- Trending Today
- U.S. History
- America's National Parks
- America's Presidents
- Agriculture Report
- Explorations
- People in America
Controversial Pro-Israel Ads Go Up in Washington Subway
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
October 12, 2012
WASHINGTON — A U.S. District Court judge in Washington DC has ruled that the city’s subway system must allow a pro-Israel ad that equates Muslim radicals with savages to be displayed in Metro stations. Legal experts say there is no way around the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects freedom of speech, even when some people consider that speech offensive.
Metro officials had raised concerns that this ad could incite violence especially after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.
The ad reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”
To many Muslims, jihad means an internal spiritual struggle. But some have used the religious concept as an excuse for violence.
Nihad Awad is executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations. The group advocates for American Muslims.
“So far the overwhelming majority of those who viewed the ads condemned them. Condemned the bigotry, the hatred behind it, and the organizers of it,” Awad said.
The ads are sponsored by The American Freedom Defense Initiative, a pro-Israel group that says it is fighting against the Islamization of America. Two U.S. civil rights organizations list it as a hate group.
The group won a similar court fight in New York, where the ads went up in subway stations in September. Pamela Geller is executive director of AFDI. She dismisses assertions that recent events should delay the ads.
“It’s never a good time. If it’s not an ad, it’s a film. If it’s not a film it’s a teddy bear. If it’s not a teddy bear, it is a Danish cartoon, or a Swedish cartoon. Or a French cartoon. When is a good time to speak openly and candidly about jihad?,” Geller said.
Washington Metro officials say the FBI is investigating a threat of violence if the ads ran. There have been minor reports of vandalism to the ads that were put up in New York, but overall criticism has been restrained.
Benetta Standly, Washington director of the American Civil Liberties Union, says the fear of violence does not mean the the First Amendment, which protects free speech, can be overridden. She argues the way to counter hateful speech is to speak out against it peacefully.
“In this country, the answer to offensive or hateful speech is simply more speech to counter that. So what we see happening now in the Washington, D.C., Metro transit system is people are starting to put up different advertisements that counter the hateful speech,” Standly said.
American Muslim organizations plan to put their own ads in Metro stations within days.
“I think this is what everyone needs to see. They want to see messages that emphasize love, compassion, coexistence, and reconciliation. Not hateful messages that are designed to rip the fabric of the United States and to divide people along ethnic and religious lines,” Awad said.
Related Articles
- Social Media Transforms Debate Viewership (12/10/12)
- N. Korean Film Screened at S. Korean Festival (12/10/12)
- Number of Chinese Students in US Dramatically Expands (12/10/12)
- Illegal Fishing Threatens Tonie Sap Lake Villagers' Livelihood (12/10/10)
- Independent Ukrainian TV Station Struggles to Stay on the Air (12/10/11)
- As Syria Economy Falters, Damascus Somewhat Spared (12/10/10)
- Seattle, 'City of Clocks' Keeps on Ticking (12/10/10)
- Defying Danger: Somali Refugees Flock to Journalism School (12/10/10)
- Inventor Is Greatest Job Creator in US History (12/10/8)
- Warmer Oceans Could Mean Smaller Fish (12/10/9)