http://mondoweiss.net/2013/03/advertising-campaigns-washington.html
by Adam Horowitz on March 4, 2013
(Image: Visualizing Palestine/ US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation)
The following press release was sent out by the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and Visualizing Palestine:
As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) gathered for its annual policy conference in Washington, D.C. today, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and Visualizing Palestine launched an advertising campaign calling on the United States to end $30 billion of military aid to Israel.
A three-day mobile truck ad highlighting the devastating impact U.S. weapons have on Palestinians will follow AIPAC attendees during their conference and as they lobby Members of Congress for more weapons for Israel.
(Image: Visualizing Palestine/ US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation)
In addition, beginning Monday, ads at three Washington, D.C. Metro train platforms—Pentagon, Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center, and Foggy Bottom—highlight the budgetary trade-offs of providing weapons to Israel at the expense of failing to fund local community needs.
Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, stated: “At a time when the sequester is cutting billions of dollars from programs to help those in need, it is grotesque that AIPAC is lobbying Congress this week for ever-increasing amounts of military aid to Israel, especially as these U.S. weapons are used by Israel—in violation of U.S. laws—to abuse Palestinian human rights.”
Ahmad Barclay, Lead Information Architect with Visualizing Palestine, stated: “We see visual media as an essential tool in communicating marginalized social justice issues to a mainstream audience. We hope that this ad campaign will spur U.S. taxpayers to question more actively where their money is being spent at such a critical time.”
(Image: Visualizing Palestine/ US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation)
And Jewish Voice for Peace and Avaaz announced the following ad campaign in Washington DC during the AIPAC conference:
(Image: Jewish Voice for Peace/ Avaaz)
“AIPAC Does Not Speak for Me” say 100 billboard ads in DC Metro, highlighting gap between AIPAC’s peace-killing policy positions and most Jewish Americans
Today, Jewish Voice for Peace and Avaaz unveiled 100 billboard ads in major subway stations across downtown Washington, DC, showcasing the faces of Jewish Americans saying boldly: “AIPAC does not speak for me. Most Jewish Americans are pro-peace. AIPAC is not.”
The ad campaign is timed to coincide with the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and is designed to challenge the lobbying group’s influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East.
Rebecca Vilkomerson, Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said:
“AIPAC is the NRA of foreign policy lobbies, pushing a right-wing agenda that does not represent the majority of Jewish Americans: Its support for military build-up and endless settlement expansion makespeace impossible. It cannot claim to speak for all American Jews.”
Noah T. Winer, Jewish Voice for Peace Board member, said:
“AIPAC represents the views of a few big political donors, not most American Jews. What’s the price tag for the rest of us to get a vote on AIPAC’s agenda?”
Hundreds of lawmakers and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend AIPAC’s annual gala this week. Considered one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Washington, a number of AIPAC’s hawkish positions put it at odds with the majority of American Jews.
According to a recent poll by pollster Jim Gerstein, 82% of Jewish Americans support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — while last year AIPAC aggressively lobbied the US government to oppose UN recognition of Palestinian statehood. In another poll by Zogby, a majority ofJewish Americans listed Israeli settlements as illegal or a problem for future peace deals — but AIPAC has refused to publicly condemn any settlements. That poll also found that 33% of Jewish Americans identify with pro-peace Jewish groups, while only 23% identify with AIPAC.
The 100 ads can be seen throughout the Washington, DC Metro system at Union Station, Gallery Place, Judiciary Square, Archives, L’Enfant Plaza, Federal Center, Farragut North, Eastern Market, and other stations. The ads will be on display for two weeks, including at the two Metro stops closest to the Washington Convention Center, venue of AIPAC’s conference: Gallery Place and Convention Center.
The ads are echoed in the moving video declaration of Jewish Voice for Peace’s “Young Jewish and Proud” youth wing.