This judge obviously knows what he is doing by allowing these adverts to be stuck on the side of buses in New York…

US District Judge John Koeltl in Manhattan has “ordered New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to display on its buses a controversial ad that refers to Muslims killing Jews, rejecting the argument that the ad could incite “terrorism” or “imminent violence”.

The judge also said that the ad “from the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI – characterised as an anti-Muslim group), which had previously run in Chicago and San Francisco, was protected speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution” stating that similar ads had also run elsewhere, including Washington DC.

The ad portrays a menacing man wearing a scarf around his head and face, includes a quotation “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah” attributed to “Hamas MTV”, and then states, “That’s His Jihad. What’s yours?”

Judge Koeltl has said that he is “sensitive to security concerns” but also “noted that the MTA and Chairman Thomas Prendergast ‘underestimate the tolerant quality of New Yorkers and overestimate the potential impact of these fleeting advertisements. It strains credulity to believe that New Yorkers would be incited to violence by ads that did not incite residents of Chicago and San Francisco'”.

The MTA “is disappointed in the ruling and is reviewing its options”.

Shoowee.

[Source: Al Jazeera]