BOSTON, June 2, 2014 – (WAFA) – Ads Against Apartheid, with approval from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), launched Monday subway advertisements highlighting Israeli abuses of Palestinians’ human rights.

 The two advertisements question Israel’s commitment to peace with a banner that reads, “Does Israel want peace or land?”

 The first ad explains that Israel has demolished over 25,000 Palestinian homes since 1967, leaving thousands of families homeless. The second ad highlights the 150 Jewish-only cities that Israel has built on Palestinian land over which it maintains military occupation.

 A third poster displays statistics about the level of violence perpetrated by the Israeli military (On average, the Israeli military has killed 1 Palestinian child every 4 days since 2000), and calls on Americans to end support for Israeli apartheid.

 President of Ads Against Apartheid Chadi Salamoun applauded the MBTA’s approval, stating: “the ads simply state the facts and are backed up with citations from credible human rights and international organizations, including the United Nations.” Salamoun understood that some may find the information in the advertisements upsetting, but he explained that “if the ads are shocking, that’s because the reality on the ground is shocking.”

 Richard Colbath-Hess, co-founder of Ads Against Apartheid and a Jewish-American faculty member at the University of Massachusetts, stated “American tax dollars help the Israeli government maintain an incredibly brutal military occupation, which has denied the Palestinian people their basic rights for decades.”

 “These ads show what Israel’s occupation and apartheid really look like, and it is important for Americans to see that,” he said.

 Ads Against Apartheid is planning to expand its campaign in Boston and in other cities across the United States. “If Americans knew the truth, Americans wouldn’t stand for it,” said Salamoun. “The ads are important and we hope people recognize this and help us spread the word.”

Ads Against Apartheid brings Israel’s crimes against Palestine and its people to the attention of the American public via paid advertising. Through the placing of ads in various outlets (including subways, billboards, newspapers, and television), Ads Against Apartheid sheds light on the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and creates a wider and more accurate understanding of it in the United States.

K.F./T.R.