New “Savage Acts” and “Violent Jihad” Advertisement Tests “Reasonableness” of MBTA’s Rejection of Pro-Israel Message
New “Savage Acts” and “Violent Jihad” Advertisement Tests “Reasonableness” of MBTA’s Rejection of Pro-Israel Message," AFLC, January 6, 2013
On January 3, 2014, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), through its President, Pamela Geller, proposed a new advertisement to run on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) buses. This advertisement, which states, “In any war between the civilized man and those engaged in savage acts, support the civilized man. Defeat violent jihad. Support Israel,” is in response to a recent ruling by Federal Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, sitting in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in which the judge upheld the MBTA’s censorship of a pro-Israel advertisement as “reasonable” based on the MBTA’s conclusion that the advertisement was demeaning toward Muslims.
The prior advertisement, which is now the subject of an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, stated: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.” The MBTA rejected the advertisement because it believed that the use of the word “savage” as a noun refers to all Muslims and that “jihad,” even in the context of war, might “possibly” refer to a Muslim’s duty of introspection and self-improvement rather than violent acts of terrorism. In its ruling upholding the “reasonableness” of the MBTA’s rejection of the prior advertisement, the court concluded that the advertisement was “ambiguous in several respects” and stated: