Here’s the statement from our supreme legal team, notably, ““Across the country, we have successfully litigated cases where government transit authorities permit the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas front groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations to run ads misleading the public about Jihad and Islamic Jew hatred. When our clients run ads exposing this Jew hatred, all of a sudden the transit authorities are worried about the ‘tone’ of the conversation and attempt to shut it down. A word of advice to government bureaucrats doing the Muslim Brotherhood’s bidding: we will sue you and you will lose. Act accordingly.”
Federal Judge Orders SEPTA to Display “Stop the Islamic Jew-Hatred” Advertisement
Late yesterday, a federal judge sitting in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted the American Freedom Law Center’s (AFLC) motion for a preliminary injunction, holding that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) refusal to run a “Stop the Islamic Jew-Hatred” advertisement on its advertising space violated the First Amendment. As part of his ruling, the judge ordered SEPTA to run the ad. (Read the judge’s Memorandum Opinion here). The motion was filed on behalf of the advertisement’s sponsors, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and its co-founders, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, and is part of a civil rights lawsuit filed against SEPTA last year. In May of 2014, AFDI submitted the below advertisement for display on SEPTA’s advertising space:SEPTA rejected the ad, claiming that it “tends to disparage or ridicule any person or group of persons on the basis of race, religious belief, age, sex, alienage, national origin, sickness or disability.” In its court filings, AFLC argued that SEPTA’s speech restriction is content- and viewpoint-based in violation of the First Amendment. The federal judge agreed with AFLC on all of the issues presented, holding “that SEPTA’s anti-disparagement standard violates the First Amendment,” and stating further that he was “compelled to [reach this conclusion] under established First Amendment precedent.” Robert Muise, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, commented,
“AFLC has made it clear in lawsuits across the country that government censorship of speech will not stand in the face of serious judicial scrutiny. Indeed, it is refreshing, but unfortunately rare these days, to have a case before a judge who is ‘compelled’ by the law and not by his only personal biases or political agenda when deciding important constitutional issues.”
David Yerushalmi, AFLC Co-Founder and Senior Counsel, added,
“Across the country, we have successfully litigated cases where government transit authorities permit the Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas front groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations to run ads misleading the public about Jihad and Islamic Jew hatred. When our clients run ads exposing this Jew hatred, all of a sudden the transit authorities are worried about the ‘tone’ of the conversation and attempt to shut it down. A word of advice to government bureaucrats doing the Muslim Brotherhood’s bidding: we will sue you and you will lose. Act accordingly.”
Our Islamic Jew-hatred ad is getting massive coverage in national and international news outlets. Most of the news stories are showing the ad, which serves to educate millions who know nothing of the history of Islamic Jew-hatred. The notoriously anti-semitic Guardian didn’t run the ad, but ran a glamor photo of Hitler instead. Very telling.
Philly buses ordered to accept ads featuring Hitler, Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2015 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s transit system has been ordered to accept provocative ads that include a 1941 photograph of Adolf Hitler with a former Arab leader after a federal judge ruled in favor of a pro-Israel group’s free-speech lawsuit. The proposed bus ads carry a tagline saying: “Jew Hatred: It’s in the Quran.” The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority believes the ads violate “minimal civility standards” and will consider an appeal. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported on Wednesday’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg. The ad in question features a photograph of a 1941 meeting between Adolf Hitler and Hajj Amin al-Husseini, described by the group as a Palestinian leader and Hitler ally. The ads are produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, a New Hampshire-based group that opposes U.S. aid to Islamic countries and has filed similar lawsuits in New York and other cities. SEPTA General Counsel Gino J. Benedetti testified in December that he rejected the ad because he thought it “put every single Muslim in the same category (of) being a Jew hater.”
Did Counsel Benedetti just say every Muslim is a Jew-hater?
Goldberg concluded that the transit authority’s “anti-disparagement” policy, while well-intentioned, was not clearly defined and therefore potentially discriminatory. He noted that SEPTA has run viewpoint ads on public issues including animal cruelty, birth control, religion and fracking. “It is clear that the anti-disparagement standard promulgated by SEPTA was a principled attempt to limit hurtful, disparaging advertisements. While certainly laudable, such aspirations do not, unfortunately, cure First Amendment violations,” Goldberg wrote. More press: Judge: Philly public buses must run ads linking Muslims to Hitler CBS News – 9 hours ago The ads include images of Adolf Hitler and read “Islamic Jew Hatred: It’s in the Quran.” While they may be incendiary to some, a federal court judge wrote they’re perfectly acceptable under the first amendment. “He agreed with us on all the issues,” said …
Philadelphia transit authority ordered to run pro-Israel group’s Hitler ad The Guardian – 7 hours ago Philadelphia’s transit system has been ordered to accept provocative ads that include a 1941 photograph of Adolf Hitler with a former Arab leader after a federal judge ruled in favour of a pro-Israel group’s free-speech lawsuit. The proposed bus ads carry a …
Philly.com – 12 hours agoThe ad in question features a photograph of a 1941 meeting between Adolf Hitler and Hajj Amin al-Husseini, a Palestinian Arab nationalist who made radio broadcasts supporting the Nazis, under the provocative headline. It was produced by American …Ynetnews – 6 hours agoPhiladelphia’s transit system forced to accept ads that include photograph of Adolf Hitler with former Palestinian leader with tagline ‘Jew Hatred: It’s in the Quran.’ Associated Press. Published: 03.13.15, 00:16 / Israel News. Philadelphia’s transit system has …NBC 10 Philadelphia – 11 hours agoIt was produced by American Freedom Defense Initiative, a New Hampshire-based nonprofit, which argued in legal filings that the ad was germane and timely “in light of the fact that many Jews (and Christians) are being persecuted in Islamic countries in the …New Zealand Herald – 8 hours agoThe ads are produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, a group that opposes U.S. aid to Islamic countries and has filed similar lawsuits in New York and other cities. SEPTA General Counsel Gino J. Benedetti testified in December that he rejected …Online Athens – 8 hours agoPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s transit system has been ordered to accept provocative ads that include a 1941 photograph of Adolf Hitler with a former Arab leader after a federal judge ruled in favor of a pro-Israel group’s free-speech lawsuit.The Inquisitr – 7 hours agoA federal judge ruled Wednesday that Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Philadelphia’s public transit service, must accept anti-Islam advertising featuring Adolf Hitler and a prominent 1940s Muslim cleric, the Philadelphia Inquirer …World Religion News –5 hours agoBeyond the image of Hitler being friendly with a Muslim leader, the advertisement promotes the website IslamicJewHatred.com and claims “Two thirds of all US aid goes to Islamic countries” while encouraging readers to “End all aid to Islamic countries”.Courthouse News Service – 14 hours agoPHILADELPHIA (CN) – Philadelphia’s metropolitan bus and train line must allow a group to post ads stating: “Islamic Jew-Hatred: It’s in the Quran,” with a photo of Hitler and an Islamic leader, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The American Freedom Defense …Newsworks.org – 7 hours agoThe Muslim religious leader in the photo, Haj Amin al-Husseini, has been described as being “as big a Nazi villain as Hitler himself,” something that is further proof, opponents of the ads say, that he was out of step with the overwhelming majority of those who …Philly Buses Ordered To Accept Ads Featuring Hitler YM”SYeshiva World News – 6 hours agoThe ad in question features a photograph of a 1941 meeting between Adolf Hitler and supporter Hajj Amin al-Husseini, a Palestinian Arab nationalist. The ads are produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The group opposes U.S. aid to Islamic …
