Staying Real in Israel
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The Unrest in Europe Grows and Expands

In the past, you would have thought that this picture was taken in the Middle East, wouldn’t you?…

No more…

Now, death and destruction at the hands of Muslim Arabs reaches France, Denmark and Germany…

So far, 11 days…

A taste of what’s to come?

Terrorists in Uniform

Palestinian terrorists wearing police uniforms…

Trained by the European Union and the American CIA…

Bought and paid for with US taxpayer dollars and European Union funds…

The world turned upside down…

Join the Party!!!
Tourism to Israel was UP 26% This Year

Don’t miss the experience of your life…

Join the masses coming to visit Israel from around the world…

Christians…

Jews…

Next Year in Jerusalem?

Noooo, not quite…

THIS Year in Jerusalem…

There will be ICE SKATING in the city of Jerusalem’s municipal square!…

Can the Messiah be far behind???

An ad by the Israeli Government Tourism Office was banned in England because it showed a picture of the Western Wall and the Jewish Temple Mount and implied that these sites are a part of Israel…imagine that…

The Advertising Standards Association claims that these holiest of Jewish sites in Israel are a part of the “disputed West Bank” and, hence, it is not true to say that they are in Israel…

It’s hard for me to comment any further on this idiocy, other that to:
1. Let you view the ad, below
2. Let you read the article proclaiming the outrage in the British press, below, and
3. Let you read the comments by the Honest Reporting organization
4. Urge you to join the Facebook group condemning this ridiculousness

‘Nuff said…

Israeli tourism advert uses picture of Occupied Territories

Israel’s tourist office has been criticized by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for using images of the Palestinian-run West Bank as part of a package tour for a holiday in Israel.

Reprinted from Telegraph.co.uk

The advert for the Israeli Government Tourist Office (IGTO) boasted that one could “travel the entire length of Israel in six hours” and urged tourists to sign up for the trip.

But the images shown in the poster included the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock – the oldest Islamic building in the world, built in the 7th century – both of which are in East Jerusalem, part of the disputed Occupied Territories of the West Bank.

Viewers complained that the advert misleadingly implied that the areas pictured was part of the “state of Israel”.

The future of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues dividing the Palestinian leadership and Israel, which occupied and later annexed the east of the city following the Six Day War in 1967.

Israel’s approval of the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem last month during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, prompted the worst diplomatic spat between the US and Israel in a generation.

The controversial move also angered Palestinians, who consider settlements a major hurdle in attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

The ASA said the advert breached truthfulness guidelines and ordered it not to be used again, adding: “We told the IGTO not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

It added: “We noted the ad stated ‘You can travel the entire length of Israel in six hours – imagine what you can experience in 4 days’ and ‘visit now for more itineraries in Israel’ and considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel.

“We understood, however, that the status of the Occupied Territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.”

The State of Israel Ministry of Tourism (SIMT) said that the advert provided “basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel”.

It claimed that it was “entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit”, adding: “Had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.”

It said that Israel “took responsibility to support the religious sites of all denominations, a commitment which also formed part of the obligations of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority signed in 1995″.

UK Bans Western Wall from Israel Tourism Ads


The Advertising Standards Authority rules that an Israeli ad breaches rules on truthfulness.

Reprinted from Honestreporting.com

From Palestinian denials of Judaism’s historical ties to the Old City and the Temple Mount to the most recent spat surrounding the status of Jerusalem and Israeli building in Jewish neighborhoods, campaigns to disconnect Israel and the Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judaism’s holiest sites are nothing new.

However, a ruling by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has taken things to new heights of absurdity. The ASA dealt with a complaint concerning an Israel Government Tourist Office advert that “the photograph featured for Jerusalem was of East Jerusalem” and therefore “the ad misleadingly implied that East Jerusalem was part of the state of Israel.”

The Israeli Tourism Ministry responded, saying that:

the ad provided basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel. They maintained that it was entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit. Furthermore, they believed that, had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.

The Ministry also reminded the ASA of Israeli commitments to supporting religious sites of all denominations and that Israeli jurisdiction over those sites and tourism there was agreed upon with the Palestinian Authority in 1995. According to the ASA, the Ministry also:

maintained that the present legal status of Jerusalem had nothing to do with the point at issue. They said it was only of relevance if there was an attempt to interpret the straightforward message of the ad in a manner that went beyond what consumers were likely to understand from the ad.

Nonetheless, the ASA upheld the complaint, judging that the ad had breached rules on truthfulness. Referring to the image of Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Temple Mount, the ASA:

considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel. We understood, however, that the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

Despite the fact that the final status of Jerusalem has yet to be determined through any negotiations between the involved parties, the ASA has, without the aid of international lawyers or politicians, come to its own decision – Israel is “not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

The bottom line – Israel can no longer feature Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Western Wall, as part of its tourist advertising campaigns in the UK.

Since when was it legitimate for the ASA to rule on the historic connection of Israel to its capital city and holy sites?

Israel’s Tourism Minister responded:

These statements join the list of repeated attempts by anti-Israel organizations to discredit Israel’s standing using absurd claims. The ministry will continue to promote marketing and advertising campaigns that make use of historic and religious sites in order to increase tourism to Israel. Jerusalem and its many religious and historic sites is Israel’s central tourism anchor that draws millions of tourists of all religions every year, regardless of political views.

The Tourism Ministry brands Israel as the Holy Land with Jerusalem at its heart, which beyond being the City of Peace, is the united capital of Israel. It is obvious to any thinking person that the Western Wall is one of Israel’s inalienable assets and as such it will continue to appear in the ministry’s campaigns. Just as nobody would dare interfere in the discretion of British state authorities on the matter of marketing Britain, the attempt to do so to Israel is illegitimate and non-negotiable.

Join the campaign to reverse this disgraceful ruling by the ASA. Please request that the ASA reconsider this decision as a matter of urgency – enquiries@asa.org.uk –

and

CLICK HERE

to join this Facebook group to help spread the campaign through social media.

Click to view Video

No one want to bring visitors to Israel more than yours-truly…but NOT at any cost…
G-d’s mandate to the Jewish People, their “chosen-ness”, calls for us to be a “light unto the nations”. We are supposed to embody the moral standards set out in the Torah (Bible). It is encumbent upon the Jewish State of Israel to portray those moral ideals and proper Torah/Bible values to the world…this ad just doesn’t do it…

Israelis prove that size doesn’t matter

Canadian Council for Israel, Jewish Advocacy release 54-second ad depicting a couple in bed as part of campaign aimed at enticing Canadian university students to visit Holy Land. Not everyone seems to be pleased

Reprinted from YNet News/Shalom Life

VIDEO – If sex truly sells, then the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy just boosted tourism in Israel. In conjunction with the Israeli consulate in Canada, CIJA recently released a 54-second spot as part of the “Size Doesn’t Matter” campaign, which aims to entice Canadian university students to visit the Middle Eastern country.

The ad depicts a couple in bed, with the woman looking at the man’s crotch saying she can’t go there because “it’s too small.” The man replies, “I consider this a spot of worship. It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise.” The camera then pans to Israel maps and pocket guides placed strategically on the man’s lower body parts.

We’re Great!
Israelis recruited to PR Corps / Itamar Eichner
If reserve military duty wasn’t enough for them, Israeli tourists are invited to join efforts to improve State’s image abroad. Ministry of Information launches campaign, complete with training centers. Remember: Israel developed cherry tomatoes
Full story

The video attempts to promote the more attractive side of Israel, but not everyone seems to be pleased. Jewish blogger Richard Silverstein thinks the ad was made in “bad taste” and says it ignores the cultural complexities any tourist will discover while visiting Israel. He says, “I’m simply flabbergasted that Israel would use the promise of fellatio and cunnilingus to promote itself.”

Writer Neal Ungerleider, who is based in New York but spent a good amount of time in Israel, believes the ad was humorous but completely missed the mark in promoting the country itself. He says, “It is hard to believe even a single viewer will show interest in visiting Israel or have a higher opinion of Israel because of the ad. As even a first year employee at an advertising agency will tell you, associating your country with small genitalia isn’t the smartest move to attract tourism.”

This is not the first time, however, that Israeli governing bodies have opted for sex-themed promotional material. In 2007, four bikini-clad women from the Israel Defense Forces posed in sexy army-wear for Maxim magazine’s July issue.

David Saranga, consul for media and public affairs in New York, said to the New York Post that the spread was supposed to improve the image of Israel among men aged 18-38 years old. But the Maxim photos received a lot of backlash from critics and even Israeli female legislators who found the images to be pornographic. Fast forward to present times and Israel promotions continue to stir controversy with the Size Doesn’t Matter campaign.

It’s Holocaust Remembrance Day today in Israel…The Durban II anti-israel conference is also underway…Plus…The death camps in Poland…To visit or not to visit?…What does Jewish law have to say?…Also…Tourism boom in Israel…Who’s coming, and where are they visiting?…Israel’s top tourist destinations for 2008…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…Listen to the show below…

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