Jerusalem police arrested six extreme right-wing activists on Tuesday for putting up incendiary posters depicting US President George W. Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Israeli President Shimon Peres
wearing a kaffiyah (Muslim headdress). The six activists are members of the right-wing group the Jewish National Front (JNF).
Jerusalem police arrested the activists, some of them minors, while they were putting up the posters in Jerusalem’s Derech Hevron, near Talpiot, as well as at the Ein Chemed Interchange at the entrance to the city.
Hate speech: Jerusalem poster in question
The activists, who were arrested for vandalism, stated that they were paid to put up the posters by a right-wing activist. The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.
Extreme rightist Itamar Ben-Gavir commented on the activists’ arrest, telling Ynet that “the ad in question was a legal ad, which is part and parcel of their freedom of expression.”
The Jewish National Front in turn vowed in turn to “continue distributing these ads in which Peres, Bush and Olmert are depicted wearing kaffiyahs above a caption that reads ‘promoters of terror’.”
They furthermore stated that “police have obviously not internalized the notion of freedom of speech”, and that they intend to “demonstrate by President Bush’s hotel (The King David Hotel in Jerusalem) carrying these very banners.
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