[Boycott - Zionist Lobby]

King County Executive Prevents "Israeli War Crimes" bus ads from appearing

Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign
27 December 2010

Press Release - 24 December 2010

The bus ads, with the message “ISRAELI WAR CRIMES: Your Tax Dollars At Work” had been approved and accepted by King County officials several weeks before. The Seattle Mideast Awareness Coalition had signed a contract, paid the complete amount – over $3000 – and the ads themselves had been printed and delivered to Metro Transit for affixing to 12 buses.

Israeli War Crimes Advert on side of bus (King 5 News depiction)

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced that the ad would not “be accepted” late in the afternoon on Thursday, citing potential disruptions and safety hazards to the Metro system.

“The ad itself is not disrupting Metro Transit operation and services,” says Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign member Edward Mast. “The ad is not causing a public safety hazard. Those who want the ad silenced mounted a campaign to disrupt Metro and generate threats. It’s disturbing that King County has given in to those who want to stop free speech with intimidation tactics.”

Local human rights activist and Jewish-American Peter Lippman said, “The State of Israel is not the same as the Jewish people, and Israel should be subject to criticism like any other state. These groups that insist on suppressing free speech about Israel do not represent many, many Jews in this country.”

Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign maintains that the ad slogan contains facts, not rhetoric, and that war crimes by Israel have been widely documented.

After Israel’s three-week military offensive against the captive population of Gaza in 2008-9, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians -- most of them non-combatants and more than 300 of them children -- a formal inquiry by the United Nations found grounds for a criminal investigation into war crimes by Israel. The UN report concluded that Israel’s assault was not in self-defense, but was “a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population”.

In a report published on July 2, 2009, Amnesty International found evidence that Israeli soldiers used Palestinian civilians as human shields. Israeli soldiers have testified publicly to other human rights violations.

Several experts have made themselves available for press contact.

For more information about Israel/Palestine, human rights, war crimes and international law, please contact:

STEPHEN ZUNES
Professor of Politics & International Studies; Chair, Middle Eastern Studies Program
zunes@usfca.edu
Home: 831-425-2975
Cell: 831-234-9468

PHYLLIS BENNIS
Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies; Fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam
phyllis@ips-dc.org
202-309-1377.

For information about US funding of Israel, contact:

JOSH REUBNER
National Advocacy Director of the US Campaign to End the Israeli
congress@endtheoccupation.org
202-423-7666

Local residents who have recently visited Israel, the West Bank or Gaza:

MARNY (KIT) KITTREDGE
marnykit@gmail.com
Cell 360.477.8778

LINDA FRANK
workforjustice@comcast.net
253 537 1405

CINDY CORRIE/CRAIG CORRIE
cindy@rachelcorriefoundation.org
craig@rachelcorriefoundation.org
360-359-6790

For information about boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns:

NADA ELIA
Professor,Antioch College
nadaelia@gmail.com

For information about Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign

ROD SUCH
press@stop30Billion-Seattle.org
(425) 466-1002

CARLA CURIO
press@stop30Billion-Seattle.org
(206) 307-3374

www.stop30billion-Seattle.org, info@stop30billion-Seattle.org

Source: http://www.stop30billion-seattle.org/press.htm

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