Activists Raise Second Billboard for Palestine
December 18th, 2009 § 2 Comments
On December 10th the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel erected its second billboard in plain sight of all passing traffic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In April 2009 the excellent Mondoweiss posted a piece about the appearance of a billboard in New Mexico urging Americans to tell congress to stop funding Israel’s war machine with their tax dollars. In addition to highlighting the inspirational quality of this important and creative form of activism, Philip Weiss also noted that one of the members of the Albuquerque-based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel (the group responsible for the campaign) had also stated that he was a defecting member of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Perhaps even more inspiring is the fact that even though the billboard was brought down after a barrage of complaints by the usual suspects, the Coalition continued to raise funds and successfully erected their second billboard on December 10th. Their positive action also spurred people in other states to follow their brilliant example — individuals in San Francisco and Seattle are apparently mobilizing as we speak.
The coalition (composed of a diverse group of members and endorsed by a variety of peace activists including Anna Baltzer) encourages those who want to mimic their campaign to contact them for guiding assistance through their website.
Hardly anyone doubts the power advertising has in influencing public opinion, especially in the context of North American society. What could be better than using this normally harmful medium for a progressive cause?
Kudos to the Coalition for thinking out of the box.
and why are they using the image of the veiled female child??
i see that is manipulation and i smell islamist agenda behind this ridiculous disgusting image that is demeaning to all girls and women especially Arab women
Why are they using the image? Quite possibly because most Palestinian women in the region are Muslim?
You see that as manipulation…of what? It’s not a manipulation of the statistical reality of who the victims are, and it isn’t a manipulation of the photo itself. In every single context your statement does not make any sense.
“Islamist agenda”? Are you joking?
“disgusting image”? Oh…so you MUST be joking.
“demeaning to all girls”? Oh…so you’re insane.