Jewish group blasts mag for rejecting ad on Israeli women in power

The American Jewish Congress has taken a national U.S. magazine to task for failing to publish an advert promoting women in authority in Israel.

Ms. Magazine, which "boasts the most extensive coverage of international women's issues of any magazine available in the United States," rejected the advert showing Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, which carried the tagline "This is Israel."

The advertisement "did nothing more controversial than call attention to the fact that women currently occupy three of the most significant positions of power in Israeli public life," said the Congress in a statement on its Web site.

According to the Congress, the head of its Commission for Women's Empowerment, Harriet Kurlander, was told when she attempted to place the advert that it would "set off a firestorm."

The Congress also said that Kurlander was told by a representative of the magazine publisher that Ms. "would love to have an ad from you on women's empowerment, or reproductive freedom, but not on this."

The president of the Congress, Richard Gordon, condemned the magazine for its decision, saying that while Ms. is entitled to reject the advert, but "in exercising that right, it has spoken loudly about itself and its readership, and their lingering hostility to Israel."

"What other conclusion can we reach," Gordon asked, in a statement released by the organization, "except that the publishers - and if the publishers are right, a significant number of Ms. Magazine readers - are so hostile to Israel that they do not even want to see an ad that says something positive about Israel?"

According to Gordon, "What is even more amazing is that, while refusing to publish a simple ad praising three very notable women, women who embody the ideal that Ms. Magazine seemingly espouses, Ms. has run a cover article in the Fall 2003 issue on Queen Noor of Jordan, has featured a number of articles on Muslim women, and even ran an article in the Winter 2004 issue entitled, "Images of Palestine," which discussed the Ramallah Film Festival and gave sympathetic reviews to films concerning 'the liberation of South Lebanon' from Israel as well as numerous films which portrayed terrorism as legitimate 'revolutionary' activity against Israel and miscast Israel's activities to counter terrorism as 'oppressive.'"

Responding to Gordon's comments, Ms. Executive Editor Kathy Spillar said the ad showed political support for one of Israel's parties and thus violated magazine standards.

"We only take mission-driven ads," Spillar told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "Because two of the women in this ad were from the same political party," that showed favoritism, and the magazine's policy is not to get involved in the domestic politics of another country.

Spillar added that this month's issue had a two-page spread profiling Livni.

	An American Jewish Congress advert promoting Israeli women in authority. (AJC)