Is refusing to run an ad for something a statement that you are against it?
Ms. magazine, the publication of Second Wave feminists has refused to run an ad showing three female Israeli politicians: the President of the Supreme Court, the Vice Prime Minister, and the Speaker of the Knesset. The caption of the ad stated "This is Israel." "Ms." magazine stated that they don't run ads for countries, they don't run ads endorsing a particular political stance (two of the three politicians shown were from the Kadima party), and that the ad misrepresents the role of women in Israeli politics.
OK, then here's an experment for you. Let's create an ad showing Supreme Court Justice Ruth-Bader Ginsburg, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, with the caption, "This is America," and see if "Ms." will run that.
Naturally, the American Jewish Congress, creators of the ad, are screaming "Anti-Israel bias!" And bloggers are weighing in with every positions, from "Hooray for Ms.! Down with the Zionist-controlled media!" to "Just as we suspected. Those damn left-wing feminists hate the Jews!" Naturally, the truth is somewhere in between. Unfortunately, the bloggers often top the Google search page, so that the truth is impossible to find out. And, I have never really read Ms. magazine, so I don't know if this was a single case of poor judgement or true bias. However, my answer to each side is as follows:
"Down with the Zionist-controlled media!"--I wasn't aware that Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, and Ted Turner were Zionists. But please consider that Israel is but a sliver of a country that just wants to exist. Please also consider that every time they tried to make nice-nice with the neighbors, they just get more bombs thrown at them. Finally, please consider that Israel is the only country that has given back land won in a defensive war.
"The left hates Israel!" --OK. You're right. We're sorry. We should have quietly marched into the sea in 1967 instead of defending ourselves. If we ceased to exist, would that satisfy you? It's a mystery to me how the Palestinians' claim to statehood became a leftist cause. They are against everything--free speech, women's rights, peaceful negotiation instaed of terrorism--that Liberals hold dear. And it's not as if the Palestinians are the only people without a state. There are also the Tibetans, Kashmiris, Kurds, Chechens, and our dear friends, the Native Americans. If we want Israel to surrender land, maybe we should set an example by giving Southern California and Texas back to Mexico. Or return Manhattan to the Native Americans.
Or maybe not.