While outrage continues in the Middle East over the incendiary film, "The Innocence of Muslims," a new pro-Israel ad denouncing Jihad as "savage" will soon make its debut in New York City's subway system.
The ad reads, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."
The ads are expected to appear at ten subway stations as early as next week.
The New York Times reports MTA officials initially rejected the American Freedom Defense Initiative's controverisal ad, but ultimately lost in court after a judge cited First Amendment rights.
Ron Meier of the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement, "We support the court’s conclusion that the ad is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, yet we still strongly object to both the message and the messenger. We believe these ads are highly offensive and inflammatory. Pro-Israel doesn’t mean anti-Muslim. It is possible to support Israel without engaging in bigoted anti-Muslim and anti-Arab stereotypes.”
In August, the American Freedom Defense Initiative launched a similar ad campaign with an Islamophobic billboard at a Metro-North station, which declared, "19,250 DEADLY ISLAMIC ATTACKS SINCE 9/11/2001. IT'S NOT ISLAMOPHOBIA. IT'S ISLAMOREALISM."
In response, local politician Paul Feiner suggested the MTA use profits from the ads to combat further discrimination.