今回は小ネタ。
先週のことになるが、マサチューセッツ州のマサチューセッツ湾交通局（Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority：MBTA）の運営する公共交通機関でイスラエルによるパレスチナの占領を批判する広告が出される→一部のイスラエル寄りの団体から抗議を喰らって広告撤去→再び広告を出す、なんて話があった。
・‘We need to remove all the posters from the system’ ― Boston censors the Palestinian narrative (Updated: The ads are going back up)（2013年10月25日 mondoweiss.com）
色んな意味で危険なにほひしかしないこの話。
以下、2013年10月25日分 mondoweiss.com『'We need to remove～』前半部分を（略
---- 以下引用 ----
This just in. Ads in the Boston transit system depicting the loss of Palestinian lands to Israel are being taken down, days after they were put up, because the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority “fielded numerous complaints.”
Here’s the email that Henry Clifford of Connecticut, who arranged the “substantial” ad buy in subway stations and commuter platforms, received from Titan, the outdoor advertising agency that has the Boston metro contract:
Hi Henry – just wanted to give you the heads up, your campaign posted on Monday and within hours the MBTA [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] fielded numerous complaints.
They have informed us that we need to remove all of the posters from the system, so I’m letting you know that everything will be down shortly.
Like I said, just giving you a heads up.
We will be reimbursing you in full for the entire campaign in the coming days.
Sorry for any inconvenience this will cause.
Josh
（以下略）
---- 引用以上 ----
↓mondoweiss.com に掲載された問題の広告（の画面メモ）。
至って普通の広告である。
かつてパレスチナがどういう状況だったのか、そしてイスラエル建国後に起きた事を簡単に伝えてる普通の広告なのだが・・・。
イスラエル寄りの人達にしてみれば、この程度の広告ですら「反イスラエル的」と映ってしまった模様。
広告を出した MBTA に抗議した団体もアフォだが、一度は広告を取り下げた MBTA もアフォだ。
とにかく、例の広告は再び MBTA の駅とかに貼りだされることになった。
これに関しては、例によって（？）各方面からコメントが出ていた。
・MBTA restores ads critical of Israel（2013年10月26日 bostonglobe.com）
ちうわけで、2013年10月26日分 bostonglobe.com『MBTA restores～』から中盤部分を（略
---- 以下引用 ----
（中略）
Robert Trestan, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said his group had informed the MBTA about the numerous complaints it had received about the ads. He said the ADL did not ask the T to remove the ads, but the agency told the ADL that the ads were coming down.
Trestan was sharply critical of the ads’ content.
“The billboards are intentionally designed to mislead the public, and they are part of an ongoing anti-Israel campaign that distorts the issues by oversimplifying the facts around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The maps, he said, appear to assert that all of Israel was owned by Palestine before 1948, even though much of it was “owned by non-Palestinian absentee landlords who lived in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut.”
The refugee issue, he added, “is complicated and very controversial. To oversimplify it . . . I don’t think is very accurate.”
Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, which supports boycott and divestment campaigns that “directly target Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its blockade of the Gaza Strip,” said it was glad the ads were going back up.
“These maps educated Boston T riders on the effects of Israeli policies, like the expansion of illegal settlements, on Palestinian society,” the group said in a statement.
“As Palestinians lose land, they also lose their homes, villages, freedom of movement, and access to basic resources like farmland and water. We must acknowledge the reality in these maps in order to create justice, equality, and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts who has worked on previous cases in which the ACLU has successfully sued the MBTA for blocking ads, said removing the ads amounted to “pure censorship of political speech.”
She praised the transit system for changing course.
“I’m very glad they’ve seen the light,” she said.
“We were very concerned that this violated the First Amendment.”
Federal courts, she said, have held that the MBTA is allowed to ban certain kinds of content, such as advertisements for alcohol or weapons, or messages that savagely attack individuals or groups.
But the T cannot discriminate based on the viewpoint of the advertiser.
“Speech on controversial issues is generally protected,” she said.
“Simply because somebody doesn’t like the idea that is expressed is not going to be grounds” for the T to ban it.
（以下略）
---- 引用以上 ----
例の広告について「偏向してる」云々と言い張る人達の論法って、どこかの国の首相が推進してる歴史修正主義に通じるものがあるのは俺だけ？
まぁ、こういう人達はそんなつもりは全然ないんだろうけど・・・。
というか、MBTAとしては、言論の自由の尊重も踏まえると（内容に余程の問題がない限り）こういう広告を簡単に取り下げるわけにいかないだろうし・・・。
それだけに、MBTA 内部で広告撤去→再開までにどのような議論があったのか気になる所。
米国憲法修正第1条（表現の自由とか信仰の自由などの保障を宣言している）だけがその理由とは思えないしね。
にしても。
仮に今回ネタにした広告と同時に親イスラエルの団体が MBTA に広告を出していたら、一体全体どういう事態になったのやら・・・。
先週のことになるが、マサチューセッツ州のマサチューセッツ湾交通局（Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority：MBTA）の運営する公共交通機関でイスラエルによるパレスチナの占領を批判する広告が出される→一部のイスラエル寄りの団体から抗議を喰らって広告撤去→再び広告を出す、なんて話があった。
・‘We need to remove all the posters from the system’ ― Boston censors the Palestinian narrative (Updated: The ads are going back up)（2013年10月25日 mondoweiss.com）
色んな意味で危険なにほひしかしないこの話。
以下、2013年10月25日分 mondoweiss.com『'We need to remove～』前半部分を（略
---- 以下引用 ----
This just in. Ads in the Boston transit system depicting the loss of Palestinian lands to Israel are being taken down, days after they were put up, because the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority “fielded numerous complaints.”
Here’s the email that Henry Clifford of Connecticut, who arranged the “substantial” ad buy in subway stations and commuter platforms, received from Titan, the outdoor advertising agency that has the Boston metro contract:
Hi Henry – just wanted to give you the heads up, your campaign posted on Monday and within hours the MBTA [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] fielded numerous complaints.
They have informed us that we need to remove all of the posters from the system, so I’m letting you know that everything will be down shortly.
Like I said, just giving you a heads up.
We will be reimbursing you in full for the entire campaign in the coming days.
Sorry for any inconvenience this will cause.
Josh
（以下略）
---- 引用以上 ----
↓mondoweiss.com に掲載された問題の広告（の画面メモ）。
至って普通の広告である。
かつてパレスチナがどういう状況だったのか、そしてイスラエル建国後に起きた事を簡単に伝えてる普通の広告なのだが・・・。
イスラエル寄りの人達にしてみれば、この程度の広告ですら「反イスラエル的」と映ってしまった模様。
広告を出した MBTA に抗議した団体もアフォだが、一度は広告を取り下げた MBTA もアフォだ。
とにかく、例の広告は再び MBTA の駅とかに貼りだされることになった。
これに関しては、例によって（？）各方面からコメントが出ていた。
・MBTA restores ads critical of Israel（2013年10月26日 bostonglobe.com）
ちうわけで、2013年10月26日分 bostonglobe.com『MBTA restores～』から中盤部分を（略
---- 以下引用 ----
（中略）
Robert Trestan, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said his group had informed the MBTA about the numerous complaints it had received about the ads. He said the ADL did not ask the T to remove the ads, but the agency told the ADL that the ads were coming down.
Trestan was sharply critical of the ads’ content.
“The billboards are intentionally designed to mislead the public, and they are part of an ongoing anti-Israel campaign that distorts the issues by oversimplifying the facts around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The maps, he said, appear to assert that all of Israel was owned by Palestine before 1948, even though much of it was “owned by non-Palestinian absentee landlords who lived in Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut.”
The refugee issue, he added, “is complicated and very controversial. To oversimplify it . . . I don’t think is very accurate.”
Jewish Voice for Peace Boston, which supports boycott and divestment campaigns that “directly target Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its blockade of the Gaza Strip,” said it was glad the ads were going back up.
“These maps educated Boston T riders on the effects of Israeli policies, like the expansion of illegal settlements, on Palestinian society,” the group said in a statement.
“As Palestinians lose land, they also lose their homes, villages, freedom of movement, and access to basic resources like farmland and water. We must acknowledge the reality in these maps in order to create justice, equality, and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts who has worked on previous cases in which the ACLU has successfully sued the MBTA for blocking ads, said removing the ads amounted to “pure censorship of political speech.”
She praised the transit system for changing course.
“I’m very glad they’ve seen the light,” she said.
“We were very concerned that this violated the First Amendment.”
Federal courts, she said, have held that the MBTA is allowed to ban certain kinds of content, such as advertisements for alcohol or weapons, or messages that savagely attack individuals or groups.
But the T cannot discriminate based on the viewpoint of the advertiser.
“Speech on controversial issues is generally protected,” she said.
“Simply because somebody doesn’t like the idea that is expressed is not going to be grounds” for the T to ban it.
（以下略）
---- 引用以上 ----
例の広告について「偏向してる」云々と言い張る人達の論法って、どこかの国の首相が推進してる歴史修正主義に通じるものがあるのは俺だけ？
まぁ、こういう人達はそんなつもりは全然ないんだろうけど・・・。
というか、MBTAとしては、言論の自由の尊重も踏まえると（内容に余程の問題がない限り）こういう広告を簡単に取り下げるわけにいかないだろうし・・・。
それだけに、MBTA 内部で広告撤去→再開までにどのような議論があったのか気になる所。
米国憲法修正第1条（表現の自由とか信仰の自由などの保障を宣言している）だけがその理由とは思えないしね。
にしても。
仮に今回ネタにした広告と同時に親イスラエルの団体が MBTA に広告を出していたら、一体全体どういう事態になったのやら・・・。
