I just received this email from King County Councilmember, Reagan Dunn, which is a letter he has now sent to Executive Constantine of King County.
Reagan Dunn
King County Councilmember
Executive Constantine,
I have had a chance to review the anti-Israel ad that will run on King County buses starting on December 27th. Personally, I find this ad to be disgusting and hateful. However, the question before us is whether the sponsoring group has a right to run the ads under our advertising policy. I have reviewed our policy and believe that we have grounds to pull the ad immediately.
As a former federal prosecutor, I prosecuted narco-terrorism cases with connections to Hezbollah and Hamas. I have also traveled extensively in Israel and have seen firsthand the dangers that Israel faces. This dangerous and misleading rhetoric is designed to incite hate and potentially violence. We have seen the tensions between Jews and Muslims erupt into violence right here in our own community. It was only four years ago that a man walked into the Seattle Jewish Federation building and shot six women.
Metro's advertising policy states that we can reject ads that incite a "breach of public safety, peace and order." It is my view that this ad is indeed designed to incite such a breach. As such, the ad should be pulled immediately and in the future such ads should be rejected out of hand.
Thank you for reviewing King County's policies on bus advertising. I trust that you will make the proper decision.
Reagan Dunn
King County Councilmember