FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
StandWithUs And IAJF Counter Anti-Israel Hate Groups With Truck Ads and Video
(Los Angeles, CA -- July 1, 2020) -- StandWithUs (SWU), in cooperation with the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF) are using truck ads to fight back against vicious anti-Israel and antisemitic hate groups holding rallies and "caravans" in seven cities across the US and Canada. The trucks will drive around the vicinity of these events in Los Angeles (July 1), San Diego (July 1), San Francisco (July 1), New York (July 1), Chicago (July 1) Miami (July 2), and Toronto (July 4).
"Al-Awda and other hate groups that organized these rallies are dedicated to ending Israel's existence and promoting antisemitic propaganda," said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs. "While there is nothing wrong with having an open and vigorous debate about Israeli policies, that is not what these events are really about. We are answering hate with a message highlighting the urgent need for Palestinian leaders to choose peace negotiations over hatred and violence."
Importantly, these ads do not signal a position on Israel potentially applying sovereignty to/annexing parts of the West Bank/Judea & Samaria. StandWithUs will release educational materials about the many sides of this issue when a decision is made one way or another by Israel's democratically elected government.
Concerned members of the public are strongly urged NOT to drive to the locations where these hateful "caravans" are being held, to avoid a chaotic situation where it may be extremely difficult to ensure public safety. Especially given the heightened political polarization in our communities in general, we do not want to see opposing groups in cars protesting each other in the middle of the road. Nor do we encourage groups of people to gather in a way that risks the spread of COVID-19. This is precisely why we chose to use truck ads as a platform to express our opposition to hate and violence against Israel.
Al-Awda, the main organization behind many of these events, is a well-documented hate group. It has claimed that "there's no Jewish history" at the Temple Mount (the Jewish people's holiest site), unequivocally declared that "Israel does not have a right to exist," and spread antisemitic imagery equating Judaism with Nazism. Its leaders have repeatedly glorified Hamas and Hezbollah, including Samir Kuntar – a terrorist infamous for murdering a four year old Israeli child.
"StandWithUs and the Iranian American Jewish Federation are sending a message that we will not be silent when such groups try to spread hate in our communities," said Susan Azizzadeh, President of the Iranian American Jewish Federation.
Messages on the truck include:
Israelis Want Peace
Palestinian Leaders: Stop the Hate, Negotiate Peace
Palestinian Leaders: Stop Teaching Hate & Rewarding Violence
Palestinian Leaders Said No To Peace in 1937, 1947, 2000, 2008 and 2020?
Israel Needs A Partner For Peace
Additionally, a video will play continuously on one side of the truck, showing the various forms of terrorism that Palestinian leaders have promoted and executed instead of negotiating peace. The video will show rocket attacks, arson, knife attacks and car ramming attacks.
Interested people will be directed to SayYesToPeace.org to learn more about the history of peace negotiations and rejectionism by Palestinian leaders.
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters, programs and activities on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
For the last 7 years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
www.standwithus.com and www. facebook.com/standwithus and www.twitter.com/standwithus
About the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF)
The Iranian Jewish American Federation (IAJF) was founded in 1980 as a response to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. A vast migration of Iranians from all social classes took place, many of whom fled to the greater Los Angeles area. As a result, the Iranian community in Los Angeles began to form a variety of organizations to assist with the needs of the Iranian community. The leaders of the federation realized that it was time to create an association that unified all the Iranian organizations under one umbrella, thus enabling the federation to become the backbone of the Iranian Jewish community. IAJF’s purpose remains to defend and protect the well being of Jews all around the world, with focus on Iranian Jews, via philanthropic activities with its member organizations. www.iajf.org
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