Who gets to decide what’s offensive
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An ad for the Israeli cellular company CellCom has set off anger by using the Separation Barrier in its latest ad campaign.
“I think the message of this advertisement is that there are people, normal human beings, on the other side of the fence who simply want to play football. For a commercial advertisement it is a brave move and I believe it is welcome,” Peace Now’s director, Yariv Oppenheimer, told Channel 2 TV.
But some Palestinians groups are angry. This does raise the question, who has the right to decide what depictions are appropriate here? Who gets to decide what’s offensive?
Sadly, there is little that the two sides can agree on, including roadsigns. Is there a better metaphor than that for the roadmap for peace? Oy.
*The photo above is from this article about the divide between Israelis and Palestinians. The caption does not identify the Israeli, but he is Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extreme right wing settler who has spoke out in favor of right wing terrorists and even harrassed then-candidate Obama during his visit to the Western Wall during the campaign. He’s a real charmer.
