New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority to Run an Anti-Islam Ad Campaign it Finds ‘Demeaning’

Next Monday, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority will run an ad campaign that it finds “demeaning”.

The ad is the work of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, a group that fought the construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center.

It reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.” And it concludes “Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”

WNYC’s “Transportation Nation” reporter Jim O’Grady says the MTA lost their court fight against posting this ad because a judge ruled that their rejecting it on grounds that it is “demeaning” had violated the group’s First Amendment rights.

The MTA issued this statement:

“The MTA sells advertising space to raise revenue to support mass transit operations. MTA’s existing policy for ads carried on subways, buses and trains permits both commercial and non-commercial paid advertisements. MTA does not decide whether to allow a proposed advertisement based upon its viewpoint and the MTA does not endorse the viewpoint in this or any other paid advertisement. MTA is currently reviewing its policy of accepting non-commercial viewpoint advertisements.”