(JTA) — An advertisement that reads "Support Israel. Defeat Jihad" went on display in 10 New York City subway stations.
The ads, which also read “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man," were posted Monday in accordance with a U.S. District Court ruling in July that ordered the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to run the ads. The MTA had argued that the ad violates its policy against demeaning language.
They also went on display as protests in Arab countries and in Arab communities around the world continue over the anti-Muslim film "Innocence of Muslims."
The ads, which also are running on buses in San Francisco, are sponsored by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, or AFDI, whose executive director, conservative blogger Pamela Geller, is a fiery critic of Muslims, liberals and mainstream Jewish organizations.
In 2011, the Southern Poverty Law Center branded the organization a hate group, while the Anti-Defamation League said in March that Geller “fuels and fosters anti-Muslim bigotry in society.”
In September 2011, the MTA ran ads calling for an end to U.S. aid for Israel.
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