The American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that has regularly advocated against the Jewish state, has condemned The New York Times for declining to publish its ad alleging genocide in Gaza.
“The refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth,” AFSC General Secretary Joyce Ajlouny said on Monday.
According to the AFSC, the text of its ad read, “Tell Congress to stop arming Israel’s genocide in Gaza now! As a Quaker organization, we work for peace. Join us. Tell the President and Congress to stop the killing and starvation in Gaza.”
AFSC said that a member of the newspaper’s advertising team requested the group use “war” instead of “genocide.”
After rejecting this change, AFSC said it received an email stating that “various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions.”
A Times spokesperson told The Guardian that the paper’s advertising division “works with parties submitting proposed ads to ensure they are in compliance with our acceptability guidelines. This instance was no different, and is entirely in line with the standards we apply to all ad submissions.”
Layne Mullett, AFSC’s director of media relations, said that “the suggestion that The New York Times couldn’t run an ad against Israel’s genocide in Gaza because there are ‘differing views’ is absurd.”
