Chapel Hill Transit has approved a pro-Israel advertisement to run inside town buses.
The proposal is the latest in a series of polarizing ads that started last year when the Church of Reconciliation ran a poster that called for the U.S. to end military aid to Israel. The group American Freedom Defense Initiative countered with an ad that called opponents of Israel "savages," setting off a debate about which ads should be allowed on buses.
The town council approved a new advertising policy in December that allows ads about religious, political or social issues, but ad proposals can be rejected if town officials determine that they are false, misleading, deceptive or disrespectful.
Chapel Hill Transit interim director Brian Litchfield says the town attorney and advertising manager have signed off on the newest application.
"We've not received a signed or executed contract from the organization or organizations that have submitted the ad work, so we're not clear as to when or if the ad will run. But again, we've let them know that the ad, as currently submitted, does meet our guidelines," says Litchfield.
The proposal from the groups Voice for Israel and StandWithUs features a Jewish boy and an Arab boy hugging and calls for peace with Palestine.
