Good for the Goose, Good for the Gander

On August 27th, I wrote a blog called, “When is it my Turn to be Offended?,” about the removal of ads from Chicago cabs because they offended Muslims. Now, as an offended Jew, I am calling for the removal of the newly installed anti-Israel ads placed on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) buses. Let’s see if these ads come down.

Back in August the explanation of why the taxi ads were removed was stated by Yellow Cab CEO Michael Levine, "Recently, the head of the group 'Stop the Islamization of America' took out ads on Chicago-area taxis. The ads in question were carried by independent affiliates of Yellow Cab Affiliation. The fleet owner was contracted and paid by an independent advertising company specializing in taxi top advertising."

"When Yellow Cab became aware of the ads three weeks ago, we immediately called the advertising company and asked to have the ads removed. We were told that they were taken down, but we found out today that three such ads were still running. They will be removed today. Yellow Cab does not regularly approve advertising content carried by our affiliates, but we do reserve the right to ask them to remove ads that offend either the drivers or the public."

The CTA needs to know that the anti-Israel ads offend Jews and should be taken down immediately. (I was alerted to this story by Cheryl Lewin, Chicago co-chair for AFSI {Americans for a Safe Israel},and then spoke with some Jewish friends to make sure I was not being overly sensitive.)


A group called The Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, (www.TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org), was scheduled to hold a press conference Friday morning (I wrote this ahead of time) to announce their month-long campaign opposing military aid to Israel. From a press release, their stated purpose is, “The CTA campaign calls upon our fellow Chicagoans to add our voices to the growing chorus of opposition to our government¹s costly and counterproductive support of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians. As Americans, we have the ability to change the dynamic of the whole conflict through one act: stopping military aid to Israel.”

I went to the group’s website and read their “Fast Facts” page. Because I am not knowledgeable enough to be able to refute their “facts,” I received help from Richard Baehr, the chief political correspondent for American Thinker, a daily internet publication devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to Americans. (www.americanthinker.com.)

The “facts” according to “Two Peoples, One Future” are listed first with the answers from Baehr highlighted in red.

Fast fact: Between the years 1949 and 2008, the United States granted $58.6 billion in military aid to Israel.


Almost all of that aid was spent in the United States, creating jobs. From 1949-1989, Israel was frontline state allied with the United States against the Soviet Empire. Now Israel is our ally against Islamic radicalism. It is a lot cheaper to send military aid to Israel to defend itself, then for our country to send troops as we have done in Korea, Japan and Western Europe.


Fast fact: A whopping $30 billion in U.S. military aid has been promised to Israel for the years 2009 to 2018.

85% or more of this money will be spent in the United States.

Fast fact: Approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers live within the occupied Palestinian territory in violation of international law.

Nonsense! Gaza is not occupied. Where are the IDF or settlers in Gaza? The West Bank is legally unallocated territory still, under the rules of the British mandate since the Arabs chose to go to war rather than create their own state in 1949.

Fast fact: There are approximately four million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Again, nonsense. The best estimate of Arab population in the West Bank and Gaza is 2.5 million, not 4 million. Only 1.5 million are living in the West Bank. Arabs in Jerusalem are offered the right to be Israeli citizens. The city is not divided into east and west.

Fast fact : Between September 29, 2000 and August 31, 2010, 1,084 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, while 6,408 Palestinians were killed by Israelis.

So what does that prove? Is a nation supposed to fight a war (in this case started by Arabs) and make sure it has as many soldiers and civilians killed in war as its enemy? Has the United States fought this way? Has any nation? The goal of war is to win quickly. No nation in the world is more careful than Israel to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Fast fact:  Weapons purchased by Israel using U.S. military aid are used against civilians in violation of U.S. laws.

Nonsense. If this were the case, United States Law would end the sale of these weapons.


I am contacting the CTA (1-888-282-8891) to let them know that the anti-Israel ads offend me, as all supporters of Israel should do also. To paraphrase former President Ronald Reagan, I am shouting out to the CTA President, “Mr. Rodriguez tear down those ads!”