Free Speech Hearing: AFDI Pro-Israel Ad, Only Ad Rejected In Fifteen Years

Early this morning, in the shadow of the site where the World Trade Center towers once stood, freedom's A Team gathered to fight for not the second, not the eighth, not the tenth, but the First Amendment. Robert Spencer, David Yerushalmi, Robert Muise and I converged upon the United States Courthouse to battle the neanderthals of the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority. Four hours of deliberation.

Jeffrey Rosen, director of real estate for the MTA, admitted that the decision to reject our AFDI pro-Israel ad — and he called it the pro-Israel ad — laid solely with him. This member of the tribe eagerly accepted an anti-Israel ad calling for the end of U.S. aid to Israel, in his view because it was a strategy for peace. What it is in reality is a Final Solution for the elimination of Israel. But this self-important jackass knows better than everybody. The only thing more disgusting than his position was his relentless nose-picking two rows in front of Spencer and me, as we took turn dry-heaving at his gross behavior — if he wasn't picking his nose, he was picking his scalp. (TMI, but I had to share.)

His almost irreconcilable thinking gave even the most astute among us great pause. Even the judge seemed astounded when he admitted that ads saying "Southerners are bigots" or "Blondes are brain-dead" would be acceptable, but ours was "demeaning." Which it was not. Mr. Rosen went on to admit that in the past fifteen years, the MTA had never before rejected an ad based on its being "demeaning": ours was the first. What I found contradictory was that Rosen admitted that he would run an ad saying "Support Israel, defeat jihad," but somehow it was not OK to run it with the tagline, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man." How can that be reconciled with his claim that the ad was insulting to a religious group — Muslims — based on his understanding of the word "jihad" as a religious concept that had nothing to do with violence and terrorism? And how does he further reconcile his claim that the ad was demeaning to a nationality ("Palestine," which doesn't even exist) with his position that the anti-Israel ad was not demeaning to a nationality (Israel, which really does exist)?

The issue is viewpoint censorship versus content censorship. And of course it's all ridiculous because not only did Rosen (who is a lawyer) agree, but both lawyers for the defense agreed that our ad was political speech, which is the most protected class of speech under the First Amendment.

Needless to say, our crack world-historical legal team, David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise, was brilliant. Yerushalmi was relentless and caught Rosen in numerous self-contradictions, leaps of logic, and inconsistencies. Muise made a ringing summation, explaining the case's First Amendment significance. In a just world, this would be an open-and-shut case. Muise made the point that pro-choice ads that the MTA ran, that demeaned women and pro-life advocates (based on religious beliefs), were deeply offensive to him as a Catholic. So clearly the MTA is being selective in which religion can or cannot be offended. Is that the MTA's position — that homicide bombers, the targeting of innocent civilians, and violent Jew-hatred are sacrosanct and cannot be criticized?

Judge Paul Engelmayer clearly did his homework, was very thorough and inquisitive, and challenged both sides — although the defense had more holes in their argument than swiss cheese. He made reference numerous times to a recent precedent that establishes our case. I pray that he follows American law in American courts.

It was interesting also that both Rosen and the defense tried to put our websites on trial. But Judge Engelmayer would not allow the proceedings to go off on irrelevant tangents, or our political views to be put on trial in PC Manhattan. Instead, he insisted that the case concerned the "four corners" of the ad — that is, the content of the ad alone.

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CGW

12 years ago

What a wonderful picture!
When will we know the outcome?

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NEVER FORGET!

12 years ago

Miss Geller,
Which Courtroom was the hearing held? 23B? I went to view the proceeding, but couldn’t find on the touch screen AFDI vs MTA… After entering from the Worth St entrance and passing thru the checkpoint, asked the Court Officer right there in the lobby if he knew which courtroom the American Freedom Defense Initiative vs the MTA was being held, he replied, “That sounds important, why it’s not listed I can’t answer.”
Oh well, hopefully this judge can figure right from wrong!

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Pamela Geller

12 years ago

Never Forget,
I am so sorry to have missed you. I published the courtroom number in a previous thread, 18C. A number of people expressed the same difficulty.
This judge was very much on top of the case. I expect we will hear in 30 – 60 days unlike the notoriously incompetent Dearborn judge who took a year (but ruled in our favor.)
Stay tuned.

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NEVER FORGET!

12 years ago

Thanks for getting back… Pissed I didn’t read that thread….
Something interesting, after dropping my car at the garage on Attorney St, yesterday caught a cab at Allen & Grand to come back to BPC, cabbie appeared to be around 65ish, thru conversation revealed he was a Jewish guy who voted for Mr. Fair Share, regrets that decision, and said he was faked out by his skill at concealing his true intentions. His conversation was filled with numerous facts about all current events and was impressive, I then asked if he reads Atlas Shrugs, amongst other quality sites… He answered: “Oh yes I do, Pam Geller, she knows exactly what’s going on, she never stops!”… This guy said his 2 sisters will still vote for Mr. Fair Share and say they support Isreal at the same time….
Didn’t get his name, but keep your eye out, you might be in this cab comeday!

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Wonderin1

12 years ago

Let me echo the sentiments of CGW. Pamela is just HOT, no matter where or when she poses. And I LOVE the expression on the face of our dear Mr. Spencer. He could be saying “Yet one more time, the freedom fighters stick it to the fascist supremacists of Islam… so BITE ME!!!” ROFL!!
LOVE Ya, Robert! LOVE Ya, Pam!
And KUDOS for Muise & Yerushalmi!! I don’t even want to think about where we would be without the work of the AFLC. When I can get work again, AFLC will DEFINITELY be receiving financial support from me.
KAFIR AND PROUD!!

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Brandy

12 years ago

Sounds like everything went well. So glad to hear!!
Kudos from me also to Muise and Yerushalmi! What great guys!
Thank you Pamela and Robert for taking this case to court. How many people would do that? Not many I’ll bet. You two are amazing and really show us all how to fight back. You give me courage, courage that I didn’t have five years ago. (And Breitbart has had a hand in that as well).
Speaking of Breitbart…if any of you get the chance, look up “Andrew Breitbart trailer” on Youtube. It’s only about 2 1/2 minutes long but boy, it’s worth watching. Talk about that fighting spirit! Watch it!

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Patti

12 years ago

Justice will prevail, I have FAITH in that!

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fern

12 years ago

What a team! Well done.
(and omg at the nose and scalp picking, in public too, ewwwwwww! Warped creature.)

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InfidelForLife

12 years ago

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. ~ Winston Churchill

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livingengine

12 years ago

Justice League of America.

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