The left-wing Oregon press is handwringing over our AFDI pro-Israel ads that just went up on Oregon buses in Portland. The headline on the first report reads, "Anti-Islamic ad being posted on TriMet vehicles because transit agency is locked in by court ruling."
Uh, wrong. The vicious anti-Israel ads are currently running on Portland transit. They cannot pick and choose which political message they prefer. You'll notice that this news report speaks to dissemblers, islamic supremacists and pro-jihadists, but not one comment from ...... AFDI. They said "Geller could not be reached for comment." I have been here all day. No one contacted me. Joseph Rose is a liar -- jrose@oregonian.com
Rose fancies himself a "commuting columnist and blogger, covering the science and culture of traffic in the Portland area -- and beyooooooooond," when he's just another run-of-the-mill tool for antisemites.
Where were Mr. Rose's lamentations when the anti-Israel ads went up last month? He didn't write about that. That good old-fashioned Jew-hatred sits well with good ole Joe.
The little coverage of these vicious anti-Israel ads was cool and dispassionate reportage (below). Look at the 1946 map; where is Jordan? Jordan was 88% of Palestine. But lying and smearing Jews is the narrative. the norming of anti-semitism. But tell the truth about jihadists and heads roll.
The 4.7 million "Palestinians" is another Islamic myth. There were no refugees. The uber-civilized Jews begged the Muslims to stay.
The Palestinians left their homes in 1947-48 for a variety of reasons. Thousands of wealthy Arabs left in anticipation of a war, thousands more responded to Arab [Muslim] leaders' calls to get out of the way of the advancing armies, a handful were expelled, but most simply fled to avoid being caught in the cross fire of a battle. Had the Arabs [Muslim] accepted the 1947 UN resolution, not a single Palestinian would have become a refugee and an independent Arab [Muslim] state would now exist beside Israel.
The beginning of the Arab [Muslim] exodus can be traced to the weeks immediately following the announcement of the UN partition resolution. The first to leave were roughly 30,000 wealthy Arabs [Muslims] who anticipated the upcoming war and fled to neighboring Arab [Muslim] countries to await its end. Less affluent Arabs [Muslims] from the mixed cities of Palestine moved to all-Arab towns to stay with relatives or friends.
All of those who left fully anticipated being able to return to their homes after an early Arab victory, as Palestinian nationalist Aref el-Aref explained in his history of the 1948 war:
The Arabs thought they would win in less than the twinkling of an eye and that it would take no more than a day or two from the time the Arab armies crossed the border until all the colonies were conquered and the enemy would throw down his arms and cast himself on their mercy (more here)
They were wrong.
"Pro-Palestinian ad to run on TriMet buses, MAX trains" KOIN Local 6
An advertisement that seeks to bring attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will appear on TriMet buses and MAX trains next month.
Titled ‘Palestinian Loss of Land,’ the advertisement consists of four maps of Israel over a timeline that begins in 1946, and goes through the present day. According to a Wednesday press release, the groups sponsoring the banner claim the maps accurately depict the portion of land controlled by each Israel and Palestine over that period.
The advertisement is reportedly being paid for by three groups, Friends of Sabeel, Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights and Jewish Voice for Peace.
"Anti-Islamic ad being posted on TriMet vehicles because transit agency is locked in by court ruling" Joseph Rose. The Oregonian
Bound by a 2008 free-speech court ruling, TriMet said Monday it has no choice but to allow an inflammatory advertisement describing the foes of Israel as "savage" to go up on buses and trains.
Purchased by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, an group run by anti-Islamic blogger Pamela Geller, the ad has already stirred protests and calls for boycotts on transit systems in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
On a black background, the ad reads, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man." Situated between two Stars of David, the tagline declares: "Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."
TriMet riders will start seeing the ad on vehicles immediately and they will be up for a month.
It's actually the second time in a month that the Middle East conflict has been splashed on the side of TriMet buses and trains.
TriMet officials said the ad may be in response to one recently purchased by pro-Palestine groups – declaring "4.7 million Palestinians are classified by the U.N. as refugees" – that has generated a several complaints. As violent protests over an American-made YouTube video mocking the Prophet Muhammad fade in the Middle East and Africa, Shahriar Ahmed, president of the Bilala Masjid mosque in Beaverton, hopes commuters just ignore the ad.
The ad, Ahmed said, is more anti-Muslim than pro-Israel – and intended to be "very hurtful." That, he said, has become clear in cable-news interviews with Geller, who runs the "Atlas Shrugs" blog.
"Look at the words she uses," Ahmed said. "No war is civilized." What's more, he said, linking "the savage" with Jihad is intended to stoke fear and hostility toward all Muslims.
For millions of peaceful Muslims, "Jihad" refers to the daily spiritual challenge, Ahmed said. "The ad could have just as easily used the words 'defeat terrorism.'"
Aware of the controversy that the transit ad has created in other cities, TriMet immediately shifted into damage-control mode.
"We're disappointed our vehicles have become a medium for divisive discussion," said Drew Blevins, TriMet director of marketing and customer information, "but at this time, we have no other option except to allow the ad on our vehicles."
Not long ago, TriMet's policy required that ads be limited to goods and services. But that policy has been suspended in the wake of a Multnomah County Circuit Court ruling that said the vehicles should be treated as public spaces subject to First Amendment protections because it is a government agency. TriMet is challenging the ruling.
The Oregon Supreme Court is now reviewing the decision.
"We support free speech," Blevins said, "but we hope the Oregon Supreme Court will once again allow us to limit ads to only commercial goods and services."
Oregon's largest transit agency has asked the state's high court to treat it like any other entrepreneurial advertising media, allowing the agency to make what it considers "reasonable determinations."
As it awaits the court decision, TriMet is required to accept all advertising, which generates $5 million in revenue for the agency each year.
The American Freedom Defense Initiative ad buy was $5,000. The Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights paid $11,000 for the "Palestinian Loss of Land" ads, showing a shrinking a shrinking Palestinian territory since 1946, purchased as a one-month campaign that began Sept. 26.
Geller could not be reached for comment. But in September, she told The New York Times that violent protests over the Muhammad video had not given her pause "for a second" about posting the transit ads. "I will never cower before violent intimidation, and stop telling the truth because doing so is dangerous," she said. "Freedom must be vigorously defended." She added, "If someone commits violence, it is his responsibility and no one else's."
Bob Horenstein, a spokesman with the Jewish Federation of Portland, said both ads come from the fringe and are demeaning. He said transit commuters shouldn't find themselves caught in the middle of a "misleading" war of words linked to a deep-rooted and complex conflict of religion, culture and politics.
"The mainstream wants peace," Horenstein said. "But ultimately, these ads are pointless. These groups are putting thousands of dollars into inflammatory messages that do nothing to advance the cause of peace."
