Anti-Israel' Ad Campaign Causes Outrage in NYC

Thousands of residents living in and around New York City count on Metro North train lines to carry them to and from their jobs. Considering the essential nature of the travel system and the many eyes that view the ads that are present at its stations, it's no wonder that the Israel vs. Palestine posters are attracting so much attention.

The controversial new ads depict the never-ending drama in the Middle East, as they show Palestinian land allegedly decreasing in size over the past 60+ years. And as the Palestinian landmass shrinks, the ad portrays Israel monumentally growing in size.

The posters were placed by the Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine, a group that claims to be "dedicated to organizing activities and educational events that advance the cause of peace and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis." The chairman of the organization, Henry Clifford, spent $25,000 of his own money to have the ads placed on 50 train stations in the Metro North system.

The Anti-Defamation League says that the ads are, "deliberately misleading, biased and fundamentally anti-Israel." CBS New York also captured some of the reaction from Dovid Efune, the editor of "The Algemeiner," a Jewish newspaper.

“I think the ad is very offensive, it’s certainly offensive to Jews," Efune said. "It paints Jews as aggressors, as imperialists, as people that are stealing or taking land from others."

But, Clifford countered that he merely wants to educate people by showing them what has happened with the map over time.

"The Palestinian people have lost most of their homeland and the map shows exactly what is happened to them," he said.

While there are calls to remove the ads, there's no indication that the Metro North will comply, seeing as they don't violate the travel system's advertising rules.

(H/T: CBS New York)