After Israel flap, Constantine bans certain bus ads
KING5 photo
King County Executive Dow Constantine on Thursday temporarily suspended all non-commercial advertising on Metro Buses following complaints about a planned bus ad that criticized Israel.
The ads from the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign read “Israeli War Crimes Your Tax Dollars At Work.”
In a statement, Constantine said he approved an interim policy that bans accepting any new non-commercial ads. The anti-Israel ads, which were to start appearing on buses in Seattle after Christmas, have been rejected, Constantine said.
“The escalation of this issue from one of 12 local bus placards to a widespread and often vitriolic international debate introduces new and significant security concerns that compel reassessment,” Constantine said. “We cannot and would not favor one point of view over another, so the entire category of non-commercial advertising will be eliminated until a permanent policy can be completed that I can propose to the King County Council for adoption.”
A new, permanent policy could be ready by the end of January.
County Councilman Peter von Reichbauer on Monday wrote to Constantine about his concerns, saying he’d been contacted by people who were worried about the ads from the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign.
Ed Mast, a spokesman for the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign, has said the ads were meant to get people talking about Mideast peace issues, not as an anti-Israel statement.
King County Metro’s current policy about bus advertising restricts messages about pornography, tobacco and alcohol and images and material that could threaten public safety.
