A new billboard campaign by the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs (SWU) counters anti-Israel advertisements in Boston, Denver, and Portland, Ore.
SWU’s ads, which went up in Portland on Monday and go up in Boston and Denver on Dec. 9, counter campaigns featuring maps that depict a “disappearing Palestine” and a growing Israel, blame Israel for the Palestinian refugee problem, and accuse Israel of “ethnic cleansing.”
The anti-Israel ads “presume there once was an Arab country called ‘Palestine,’ when in fact no such country ever existed prior to the one being considered today,” while neglecting that “there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the land of Israel for three millennia,” said StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein.
“The anti-Israel ads also leave out the context such as the chronic wars and terrorism unleashed against Israel that first created the refugee problem. They omit the numerous times Israel has given up land for peace—such as in Gaza—when in exchange, it got thousands of rockets hurled at its southern towns and Palestinian leaders continued refusal to accept the Jewish state,” Rothstein said.
The pro-Israel ads from SWU depict Jewish loss of land over time, highlight Israeli innovation, and direct viewers to thewholestory.org, a website listing the “Top 10 Things Palestinian Leaders Don’t Want You To Know” about Israel.