The campaign will run ads on buses across Washington, DC during Netanyahu’s visit.
A Palestinian-American who helps coordinate boycott Israel campaigns Senan Shaqdeh told the Palestine Liberation Organization diaspora department Sunday that the controversy around Netanyahu’s congress speech on US media “created an opportunity to educate average Americans about the crimes and violations of human rights Israel commits everyday using US taxpayers’ money.”
An American pro-Palestine activist Jackie highlighted, according to the PLO diaspora department, that the ongoing Gaza blockade and the ban on entry of construction material for reconstruction is “unfortunately supported and covered up by the United States.”
The campaign was officially launched last Tuesday by American Muslims for Palestine. The group said in a statement that the campaign aims to use the Netanyahu’s “contentious address” to congress on the Iranian nuclear program to bring to focus the “detrimental impact” of US support of Israel.
The ads will make use of quotes from a speech Netanyahu made in 2001 before settlers living in illegal West Bank settlements, in which he reportedly described the United States of America as “a thing you can move very easily.” Netanyahu was apparently unaware that his statements were being filmed.
In the recording, Netanyahu emphasizes that he managed to “terminate the Oslo accords” and convince Washington to agree that Israel would not pull back from any areas he deemed as militarily strategic sites in the West Bank.
Netanyahu, who is scheduled to deliver the speech on Tuesday, is expected to speak against the deal unfolding with Iran over its nuclear program.
After receiving an invitation from Republican House speaker John Boehner, who reached Netanyahu without consent from the White House, his decision to address the Congress has received criticism from former Israeli security officials and added strain to Netayahu’s relationship with Obama and other officials in Washington.
