Journalist Arrested After Marring Anti-Islam Ad in N.Y

An Egyptian-born activist has been arrested in New York for vandalizing an advertisement that calls the enemies of Israel savages.

Mona Eltahawy, who is a well-known Egyptian-American journalist, spray-painted an ad at the Times Square station in New York City on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. 

Eltahawy, who was captured on a video while painting the ad, was arrested immediately on charges of criminal mischief and making graffiti. 

"This is non-violent protest, see this America," Eltahawy said while being arrested. 

A pro-Israeli person tried to stop al-Tahawy before she was handcuffed and arrested. 

Eltahawy says the ad promotes hatred and racism. 

The ad reads, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man." It then asks people to support the Israeli regime. 

The advertisement, which is the brainchild of Pamela Geller -- the executive director for the pro-Israel American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) and publisher of a blog called Atlas Shrugs -- drew immediate criticism from passersby after it was installed. 

The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) had reportedly refused to run the ad, citing a violation of its policy against ads that are demeaning. 

However, on July 20, US District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York issued a ruling, ordering city officials to install the anti-Islamic advertisement banners for public display, based on the First Amendment right of free speech. The banners, which were posted on Monday, will remain in public display for a month. 

The AFDI previously gained notoriety when it lobbied against the creation of a Muslim community center near the site of the now-destroyed World Trade Center. 

Geller is a co-founder of the "Stop Islamization of America" foundation, which has been described as a hate group by experts. 

An identical Islamophobic banner had earlier been posted on public buses in the Western US city of San Francisco through August and early September. 

The development comes as millions of protesters have been staging demonstrations throughout the Muslim world to condemn a blasphemous movie made in the United States and a French magazine’s recent publication of cartoons that insult Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). 

NT/MHB/AS 

Click here for this articles Home at PressTV