| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Washington Post: “Metro ordered to display pro-Israel ads”
The “fears” of the DC MTA validate the message and the necessity of our ads. We are Americans, we do not cower or reward barbarity and savagery.
“Metro ordered to display pro-Israel ads that it worried might incite violence” Washington Post
A federal judge has ordered Metro
to begin displaying controversial advertisements on Monday, even though
the transit agency has worried the ads might incite violence.The decision came Friday in a one-page order granting an injunction to a pro-Israel group that sought to force Metro to display provocative posters in four stations. The posters, purchased by the American Freedom Defense Initiative
(AFDI), will say: “In Any War Between the Civilized Man and the Savage,
Support the Civilized Man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”A spokesman for the transit agency said in an e-mail that it
would comply with the court order. Metro was sued last month by AFDI
after trying to delay displaying the advertisements in the wake of violence in the Middle East that was sparked by an Internet video that disparaged the prophet Muhammad.Metro’s
lawyers argued in court papers that displaying the posters would
endanger the public. “Faced with the choice between endangering the
public by displaying the AFDI Ad when it was likely to cause violence on
Metrorail, or delaying the display to avoid the danger to passengers
and without impinging on AFDI’s freedom of expression, WMATA chose
delay.”But U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer disagreed and
in a one-page ruling ordered the transit agency to run the
advertisements. The judge said an opinion explaining her reasoning would
follow.The American Freedom Law Center, a self-described
Judeo-Christian nonprofit law firm, filed the suit Sept. 20 on behalf of
AFDI in the District’s federal court. The law center, which recently
won a similar case in New York, argued that Metro was violating AFDI’s
First Amendment rights by postponing the advertising campaign.“This
case is such a strong First Amendment case that they would have no
chance on appeal, in my view,” said Robert Muise, senior counsel for the
law center. “This is not just a victory for our clients and a victory
for the First Amendment; it is a victory for all
freedom-loving Americans.”In
early September, AFDI purchased the advertising space from CBS Outdoor,
Metro’s advertising firm. The posters were scheduled to be displayed
for a month starting Sept. 24. But a representative of CBS Outdoor
e-mailed Pamela Geller, AFDI’s executive director, saying it would delay
posting the advertisements “due to the situations happening around the
world at this time.”
2012-10-06 16:50:52
Source:
