Editor, The News:
I am deeply disturbed to learn about TransLink’s agreement to run distorted anti-Israel advertisements on its buses and SkyTrain stations.
Jewish contiguous presence on the land of Israel is a record of fact, while the four-part advertisement falsely depicts a map of “Palestine” superimposed on the modern state of Israel.
In truth, an official state of Palestine has never existed. Never.
While Israel and the Palestinian Authority are currently engaged in peace negotiations to resolve their differences and reach a two-state solution, TransLink will be running anti-Semitic ads that promote misinformation against a sovereign nation and its people – thus aiding and abetting groups that incite hatred – when its own mission statement proclaims inclusivity.
TransLink’s policies, which hold that Vancouver’s public transportation system must be a safe and welcoming environment for all racial, ethnic, religious and minority groups are violated. In fact, the transit authority policy publicly states that, “No advertisement will be accepted which TransLink, in the exercise of its sole discretion, considers to be of questionable taste or in any way offensive in the style, content or method of presentation.”
TransLink’s disregard for its own policies to create a safe place for all on our publicly funded transit system is unacceptable. It sets a precedent that is dangerous not only for the Jewish community, but eventually for other minority groups as well.
Decision makers at TransLink should be ashamed – and demoted or fired – for this ugly incident. This ad must not be allowed to become a precedent for future ads on our buses or at our SkyTrain Stations.
Our personal freedoms depend on it.
Laurie Geschke
Maple Ridge