P.A Slams Subaru Ad, Subaru-Israel Denies Relation To The Commercial

Sunday April 24, 2011 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank expressed on Thursday its anger over an advertisement showing the Subaru car hitting two Palestinian children in Jerusalem with “We will see who will stand in front of you” written in Hebrew on the ad.

AFP Photo - ILIA YEFIMOVICH

Dr. Ghassan Al Khateeb Media, Spokesperson of the Palestinian Authority, told China’s Xinhua agency that that the PA had filed a complaint to the Israeli branch of Subaru over the ad that mocks the severe injuries of two children from Jerusalem, who were rammed, in October 2010, by a Subaru vehicle driven by David Be’eri, Director-General of the Elad settlement organization.

The settler was briefly detained by the Israeli police, and was released after he claimed that he had no other choice but to ram them with his car “as he had to defend himself after the two children hurled stones at him while driving it”, the Arabs48 news website reported.

Al Khateeb described the commercial as immoral and as an act that disregards the life of the Palestinian people.

He added that such ads encourage settler violence against the Palestinians, including running over Palestinian children, Xinhua said.

The Israeli Radio reported Thursday that spokesperson of Subaru in Israel denied any relation to the ad, and stated that the company did not publish this ad and protested against attempts to harm its reputation.

The Gulf News reported on its website on Friday that the advertisement had “resurfaced a few days ago on a Facebook page for the Subaru car company in Israel, with some words in Hebrew. (We will see who will stand in front of you).

The Gulf News added sources told it that once the company noticed the picture on its Facebook page, it immediately removed it.

The sources added that Subaru-Israel also asked Palestinian media agencies to remove the picture from their websites, but they refused, Gulf News said.

The ad also led Peace Now Movement in Israel to protest against it. Peace Now spokesperson, Hagit Ghufran, stated that this ad “is a clear evidence of the existence of fanaticism in Israel’s Subaru branch, especially in areas where there is conflict with the Palestinians.

Ghufran added that such act will lead to more violence, especially against children.

Khalid Quzmar of the International Movement to Defend Children, called for taking the people behind the ad to court, adding that, “unfortunately going to the law through Israeli courts is useless because Israeli courts are serving the occupation which gave a cover to such behaviors." Xinhua said.

Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, also denounced the advertisement describing it as “propaganda that reached to the leveled of encouraging the killing of Palestinian children”.

Updated From
Alleged Subaru Car Ad In Israel Shows “Power” By Running Over Palestinian Children
Saed Bannoura, IMEMC & Agencies, Fri, 22 Apr 2011 03:38:45

A new advertisement in Israel, reportedly published by Subaru-Israel facebook page, meant to show the “power and durability” of the Japanese Subaru car, caused outrage after showing a Subaru driven by a Jewish settler striking two Palestinian children in occupied East Jerusalem, Press TV reported. The advertisement was allegedly published by the Subaru dealership in Israel, featuring an incident that took place last year when the settler struck two Palestinian children with his Subaru car.

The settler, known to the Israeli police, fled the scene after injuring the two children. The attack was capture on video.

“We Will See Who Can Stand Against You”, was written in the right corner of the horrific picture of a Palestinian child flying into the air after being rammed by the settlers’ Subaru.

The victims were two Palestinian children aged 10 and 12. The 10-year-old child suffered a broken leg. The settler is at large, and is not even wanted for his crime.

The Fateh movement of President Mahmoud Abbas slammed the Subaru ad and described it as an act of aggression, promoting the harm and murder of Palestinian children.

The settler who rammed the children with his car was identified as David Be’eri, Director-General of the Elad settlement organization, an extremist settler real estate corporation that heavily promotes removing the Palestinians from Palestine, especially from Jerusalem, and replacing them with Jewish settlers.

The Elad movement heavily encourages Jewish settlers to move into Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, and provides them with financial support. Most of its financial comes from Zionist groups in the United States.