The Toronto Transit Commission rejected four anti-Israel
advertisements for being “inaccurate and misleading.”
Brad Ross, a spokesman for the transit commission, told JTA
on Monday that the ads were turned down because they were “inaccurate and
misleading.” The ads were intended to run on buses and subways, as well as the
commission’s shelters.
Proposed by the Montreal-based Canadians for Justice and
Peace in the Middle East, the ads were similar to the “Disappearing Palestine”
ad that ran this summer in Vancouver’s transit system. The Vancouver ad showed
four maps, spanning from 1946 to 2012, that suggested Israel was taking over
Palestinian land.
The CJPME ads claimed that Palestinian “loss of land” has
been “unfair” and “illegal under international law.”
“Our legal opinion,” Ross said, “is that there has never
been a finding by any international court or tribunal with respect to the
illegality of loss of land, and by making that statement, it potentially could
cause discrimination or advocate hate towards a specified group, in this case
Israelis and/or the Jewish people.”
Ross said the four ads contained similar language, maps and
the line “illegal under international law.” He said, “the real legal issue” for
the transit commission “was a statement that we determined to be either
inaccurate or misleading.”
The CJPME, which was notified of the decision on Friday, may
appeal the rejection, Ross noted.
CJPME President Thomas Woodley told JTA on Monday that his
group had not seen the transit commission ruling and could not comment.
B’nai Brith Canada congratulated the commission “for making
the right decision.” “In properly interpreting the law on free speech to
understand that it does not include the right to spread false information, the
TTC has not allowed itself to fall prey to the false anti-Israel propaganda
campaign,” B’nai Brith Canada said.
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