Ooh Media pulls pro-Palestine billboard following 20 complaints to ad watchdog
A pro-Palestine billboard in Melbourne has been taken down by Ooh Media pending further decisions by the Ad Standards Board, legal experts and other authorities on whether the controversial ad breaches national advertising standards and rules.
The billboard, which was located in Melbourne’s Southbank, featured images of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu under the slogan “Apartheid: Wrong In South Africa. Wrong in Palestine”, and a quote from Mandela: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians” and a quote from Tutu: “Gaza is going to test who believes in the worth of human beings”.
PHOTO: Australians for Palestine Advocacy Group Facebook page
However, the ASB told Mumbrella the billboard has received about 20 complaints but as the ad is about a social issue it falls under the ad watchdog’s political advertising definition and consequently the board will not be considering the complaints.
Instead of spending money on billboards, surely the money could have rather been used to providing aid for the people in Gaza? Seems like this organization would rather fuel propaganda than taking any action to make the lives of people living under a terrorist organization, Hamas, any better…
So much for free speech. How depressing. And where is the ‘controversy’?
Why does it seem that almost anyone can say almost anything online and in social media, yet when it comes to printed media we are subject to all kinds of standards, laws, regulations and rules.
This disconnect between regulation of “old” media and “new” media seems to be an utterly woeful double standard.
Just put the billboard back up and ignore the complaints of a handful of people who consider speaking out against genocide to be ‘offensive’ in some way.
Anyone who has an issue with this billboard is a possible sociopath, bereft of empathy.
Funny that in the mumbrella daily email there was a banner ad for Ooh! Media with tag lines such as “Ooh! can’t be switched off”, “Ooh! can’t be minimised” clearly if enough people complain it can!
ahhh the controversy is in the dog whistling Andrea – ask yourself why some people don’t think Palestine is free. “Free Palestine” is arguably anti-Semitic
Anyone who who has been to Israel knows any Apartheid analogy is ridiculous. But Goebbels also knew a big sign on a big road could magnify a Big Lie. Credence by mere presence. If one wants to see some Apartheid in action, there is no longer a single Jew living in Gaza or in Ramallah or in Saudi Arabia – they are all Judenrein. Meanwhile ‘ethnic cleansing’ by the millions continues unabated in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, northern Nigeria etc. – Go figure!
The ‘controversy’ is around inferring that Israel is an apartheid state, which is both factually incorrect and does a huge disservice to people who actually lived under one.
Israel is the only free democracy in the region. 1.5 million Arabs choose to live in Israel with full legal rights because they’ll have a better life there. This represents around 25% of the total Israeli population.
There are Arabs (Christians, Muslims, Druze, Ba’hai and others) who are members of Israeli parliament, professional sporting teams, cultural organisations, the military, the justice system including the supreme court and every aspect of business. Israel is a multicultural country. Street signs are in Hebrew, English and Arabic. It’s illegal for employers in Israel to discriminate based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. This is also unique in the region.
Countless prominent South Africans have gone on record stating that Israel is clearly not an apartheid state. 10 minutes of Googling, including looking up the actual definition of apartheid would really put this ridiculous idea to bed.
Google Hamas charter. Please. ‘Obliterate Israel’ and then ‘kill all Jews’. And then let’s discuss this ‘controversy’. Indeed, where is the discussion about 150,000 people slaughtered in Syrian in the last 3 years, 11,000 of them children! Or Islamic States. Yemen. Egypt. Nigeria. Or 18 Palestinian men and women who were ‘accused’ of collaborating with Israel who were simply publicly dragged into the streets of Gaza and shot dead. No lawyers. No trials. Or perhaps ‘free speech’ doesn’t encourage these discussion?
well said rosie, the hypocrisy is off the charts…
I for one would prefer to see disagreements handled via advertising rather than guns, missiles and tanks.
When two sides in a conflict haven’t resolved anything after decades of fighting, both sides are in the wrong.
I was wondering how long it would take for the Pro Israeli propoganda and Anti Arab or Muslim bashing to commence. So predictable. What would Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu know anything about apartheid anyway they’re only gentiles.
The conflation of issues is what does my head in about this.
Since when do the words ‘Free Palestine’ either imply or rationally lead in all cases to support of Hamas?
And if you want to talk about Syria or Gaza or whatever then go right ahead. You have the right to do so. What any of those conflicts have to do with a billboard in Melbourne, which has been removed due to some unseen pressure is beyond me.
Free speech means free speech. You either agree to that or you don’t.
Agree Rosie. Also, the fight was against Israel and Hamas – which is a banned terrorist organisation in Australia. It’s a bit like throwing up a billboard supporting Al Qaeda or ISIS.
This long but a very powerful video (make sure you watch at least the last 15 minutes, even if you don’t watch the whole thing) seems to me like a plea to the world to understand that it is not just about the borders. It was made in 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc8EjQEpZ3s
Couldn’t agree more Joe. To that end, how about they remove the ‘obliterate’ and ‘kill all Jews’ clause and let’s start talking. Otherwise, Hamas goal is crystal clear and how does one negotiate around ‘obliterate’ and ‘kill’?
Imagine for a moment, a New Zealand constitution calling for the obliteration of Tasmania and death to all (for arguments sake) Muslims, worldwide? How does one negotiate around that?
BTW, Hamas has ‘only’ been firing rockets into Israel, almost daily until this last war began, since they took over the governing of Gaza in 2007. Israel completely withdrew in 2005.
If only this issue were able to be resolved ‘via advertising’ ….
The irony of pulling out the ‘free speech’ card when an ad has just been pulled.
Do you not see it as damning Israel with faint praise when comparing her atrocities with Syria’s?
Mr P – you should study your middle east politics from the textbooks, not Facebook. The only genocide is that sworn against Jews by Hamas jihadists. Anyone who doesn’t have an issue with this Billboard is an intellectual poseur and should have moved onto their next shiny 5 second obsession by now.
Joe P – you are living in the fantasy world of the typical Australian armchair amateur geo-politicist. Nobody wants to see guns and tanks and dead children. But when one party has broken 7/7 ceasefires with rocket fire which reaches your capital cities, fires these rockets adjacent to UN hospitals and schools, uses human shields, digs tunnels into your country, summarily executes supposed enemy sympthasiers in the street after prayers, and has sworn to wipe your nation off the face of the earth and to exterminate your culture world wide, I supposed you’d put down your weapons and ask if you could just hug it out, wouldn’t you?
Spare us all from this glib, ignorant posturing and go back to Wheel of Fortune and your Lay-Z Boy.
Joe Lederman, of course there are no Jews living in Gaza. Because they have a choice. Gaza is an overcrowded prison with lack of modern facilities, a water supply near collapse, limited food supply, and the list goes on. If I was a Jew living in Gaza, no matter how welcoming or not people might be towards me, I would also move to Israel. – Go Figure!
Armin,
The people of Gaza do have a choice. Support Hamas and its stated aim of destroying Israel and killing all Jews, or support a democratic movement capable of ousting the ‘Hamas crazies’ and begin to build a society where their people can live, flourish and prosper in safety. Not a single Arab state supports Hamas – not one. Go figure that!
“Apartheid” and “Gaza” are completely unrelated.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is quite simply ignorant – and uneducated – and is very ready to jump at a conclusion due to some rubbish propaganda. the same person that eats media and advertising for breakfast and buys and believes everything you see on TV.
Also, what is Palestine – it does not exist, and never has. The area is Gaza.
Rosie,
This is exactly what the video that i gave link to is saying.
Have a look and share it! It is long but well balanced and focusing on facts not pro-Palestinian propaganda. It shows intelligent Palestinian Arabs defending Israel who clearly state that for the war in the Palestine to stop what we need is a fatwa from a Mufti to forbid Moslems to call for extermination of Jews and that 7th century’s verses that incite prejudice and hatred of Jews, must not be applied to 21st century.
Two issues here. The first one is political situation in Gaza, which everyone is entitled to have an opinion on. The second one is our freedom of speech and the right for us to hear the opinions of everyone, regardless of whether we agree or not. By pulling the billboard we are being deprived of that right….
Tim, no comparison can be made between Syria/Israel. If, however, you choose to ignore the war in Syria, ISIS brutality, conflicts in Ukraine versus Russia, Yemen, Libya, Iraq… and your ONLY cause is to stand up for the terrorist organisation, Hamas, then it is clear what flavour of politics you back. I was in Israel recently and visited beaches where Jews and Arabs swam together, I shopped in malls where Jews and Arabs mingled, I ate in Arab restaurants where Arabs and Jews ate side by side, I visited someone in a maternity hospital who shared a room with an Arab woman who had also recently given birth, learning institutions are FULL of Arab students. It’s not hard to confirm all of the above. But it’s so easy to sabotage it with this vile mis-information. Not freedom of speech but rather lies and propaganda by those who would have Jews expelled (and go where?) or exterminated and who hide behind ‘freedom of speech’ slogan.
Free Palestine is in no way an anti-semitic statement. Palestine is recognised by the UN and by most countries and has been occupied by Israel long past cessation of hostilities of the six day war. In Gaza the occupation has been replaced by siege and recent Israeli attacks have included use of banned weapons and illegal attacks upon medical facilities. These are incontrovertible war crimes.
Its amazing took 20 or so complaint about pulling the poster down yet the people around the world wanted this genocide to stop in Gaza yet no one stopped that in a hurry !!!
Hmm Interesting wheres the justice??
Too bad most of those who live in actual apartheid don’t agree (I mean, how can they agree when it’s just more propaganda). South African leader’s daughter DISPELS Israel as apartheid: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1407328822823064&set=vb.202904329722325&type=2&theater