Dear Friends,

As our community prepares to observe the High Holidays, CIJA | Pacific Region and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver would like to update you on an important and developing issue.

It has come to our attention that a coalition of pro-Palestinian activists has purchased a series of anti-Israel advertisements for display at two SkyTrain stations and on the exterior of 15 buses in Vancouver beginning imminently.

CIJA | Pacific Region has reviewed the ads in question. It is our assessment that these advertisements distort history, are malicious and essentially question the legitimacy of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

We believe it is no coincidence that this advertising campaign will coincide with the sacred holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

TransLink—the regional transit authority—has a clearly defined set of advertising policies and guidelines, which restrict the display of ads that make public transit unwelcoming for any ethnic or racial group—the appropriateness of which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

As the advocacy arm of Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, CIJA | Pacific Region has addressed this issue directly with TransLink—both with members of its Board and its Management—and has asked the transit authority to comply with its stated policies and withdraw its approval for the ads.

TransLink has since confirmed that they have reviewed the matter and that they recognize the offensive and provocative nature of the advertisements. Despite our view that the advertisements contravene TransLink’s own policies, TransLink has decided to proceed with allowing the advertisements to be displayed.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

• Public opinion toward Israel will not change as a result of these ads. Support for Israel locally, provincially and federally across the political spectrum has never been stronger.
  
• The objective of the sponsoring groups is clear: to gain publicity for their marginalized views, which fall outside of mainstream Canadian opinion. Countering these ads in the public domain (on buses, for example) would only raise the profile and lend credibility to these marginal groups.
• Our community is strengthened by its diversity of opinions and views. However, on the core issue of Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state in peace and security – we stand together.

We encourage you to express your displeasure directly with TransLink:

Ian Jarvis, Chief Executive Officer ian.jarvis@translink.ca
Doug Kelsey, Chief Operating Officer doug.kelsey@translink.ca
Nancy Olewiler, Chair of the Board olewiler@sfu.ca
TransLink Board of Directors board@translink.ca

Our best response as a community to this development is our continued non-partisan pro-active advocacy for a strong Canada-Israel relationship based on the values that bind our two nations together. If you would like to work with us to support this relationship, contact us today at vancouver@cija.ca.

Wishing you a Shana Tova,

Paul Goldman
Co-Chair, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs | Pacific Region

Stephen Schachter
Co-Chair, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs | Pacific Region

Mitchell Gropper
Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver