Assemblymember Castelli Urges MTA Removal Of 'Inflammatory' Billboards About Israel,

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Assemblymember Robert Castelli wrote a letter today to the MTA Metro-North railroad president urging for the removal of a billboard about Israel and Palestine, saying members of the Jewish community were offended by the anti-Israel message and that the advertisement was "more inflammatory than promoting peace."

The billboard is titled "Palestinian Loss of Land -- 1946 to 2010" and appears at stations in Westchester County. The billboard shows four maps of Israel in different years with Palestinian land marked out in color, and was sponsored by the organization COPIP, or the Committee For Peace In Israel and Palestine.

"I think the implication is kind of a subliminal one that is very anti-Israel," Castelli said. "If you look at the message, it's promoting peace and harmony in Israel and Palestine, but seems to disturb harmony in our community."

Castelli said he was contacted by "a multitude" of Jewish organizations in his district that were offended by the billboard. Castelli said he consulted those complaints, as well as a letter from The Anti-Defamation League, before deciding to draft the letter to Metro-North President Howard Permut. The Anti-Defamation League cited COPIP as an anti-Israel group. It said the billboards failed to reflect key facts and that the issue is "extremely complex and cannot be summarized in a series of four maps."

Assemblymember Castelli Urges MTA Removal Of 'Inflammatory' Billboards About Israel, Palestine | New York Daily News