NEW YORK : Muslim groups have denounced a move by a pro-Israeli body to run anti-Islamic advertisements on New York City buses next week, calling them hateful and vitriolic.
A set of six advertisements with anti-Muslim messaging will begin appearing on Sept 29, plastered on 100 New York City buses and in two subway entrances. The ads will run for a total of four weeks, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).
The ads, which reportedly cost $100,000, are sponsored by the American Freedom Defence Initiative (AFDI). Led by controversial blogger Pamela Geller, the far-right group supports what it calls “counter jihad measures.” The group publicized the coming ads on their website, claiming that the campaign was aimed at telling “truths about Islam and jihad that the government and media ignore.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States, characterizes the AFDI as an “active anti-Muslim group.”
Each of the ads will feature a disclaimer from the MTA that it does not endorse the views expressed in the campaign.
The MTA rejected one of AFDI’s ads that included a phrase about killing Jews, saying “it was reasonably foreseeable” that displaying the ads would “incite or provoke violence” and interfere with “safe, efficient, and orderly transportation operations.”
“We review every viewpoint ad under the standards, but a series of court rulings have made clear that our hands are largely tied,” MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.