Anti-jihad ‘savage’ ads by Pamela Geller will go up in NYC subway
Pamela Geller, who previously campaigned against an Islamic center near ground zero, won a court order on September 20, 2012, to place anti-jihad ads on the NYC subway. New York’s Muslim leaders have called the ad hate speech.
Conservative blogger Pamela Geller won a court order on Thursday, allowing her to place anti-jihad ads in the New York City subway next week.
The Associated Press reported that the ads call some radical Muslims "savage," and New York transit officials called them "demeaning."
The ad reads: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad."
A Manhattan federal court judge ruled in July that the MTA violated the First Amendment rights of the group, The American Freedom Defense Initiative, which was planning to place the ads, NBC News reported.
Aaron Donovan, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, said, "Our hands are tied."
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"The judge recognized our intention but found our attempt to be constitutionally deficient," he said, according to NBC News. "As a result, under our existing ad standards as modified by the injunction, the MTA is required to run the ad."
Muneer Awad, of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said the ads promoted bigotry in New York. "They're not only anti-Muslim, they're offensive to a large number of people, especially people who know the history of the word 'savages,'" he said, according to NBC.
"We don't think it's controversial," said Geller, who is executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative. "It's truth. The MTA has run anti-Israel ads before and no one had an issue about it. 'Any war on innocent civilians is savagery': What's controversial here?" she said, according to CNN.
The AP noted that Geller previously campaigned against an Islamic center planned near ground zero. Geller said she isn't concerned that the ads will spark protests such as those going on in the Middle East over an anti-Islamic film.
Donovan said the MTA is considering amending its advertising policies to prohibit noncommercial advertisements as soon as next week, CNN reported.
The ads are scheduled to be placed in 10 subway stations around the city next Monday.
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