Mona Eltahawy arrested for vandalizing pro-Israel, anti-"Jihad" NYC subway ad
Mona Eltahawy, a prominent Egyptian-born U.S. columnist, center, marches in downtown Cairo, Egypt to mark International Women's Day. March 8, 2012 / AP
(AP) NEW YORK — An Egyptian-born U.S. columnist was arrested Tuesday for spray-painting an advertisement equating Muslim radicals with savages at a New York City subway station.
Mona Eltahawy, 45, of New York, was arrested on charges including criminal mischief and making graffiti, police said. Her arrest was captured on video by a New York Post camera crew and posted online.
Eltahawy is a women's rights defender and lecturer on the role of social media in the Arab world. She calls herself a liberal Muslim who's spoken publicly against violent Islamic groups. She's seen in the video spraying pink paint on the ad while another woman tries to block her.
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"This is non-violent protest, see this America" Eltahawy said in the video as police officers were arresting her. "I'm an Egyptian-American and I refuse hate."
Eltahawy hasn't returned a phone message seeking comment on her arrest.
The ads — reading, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad." — went up in 10 stations across Manhattan after a court victory by a conservative commentator who once headed a campaign against an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York initially refused to run blogger Pamela Geller's ad, saying it was "demeaning." But a federal judge ruled in July that it is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Geller, executive director of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and publisher of a blog called Atlas Shrugs, has said she's not concerned that her ad could spark protests like the ones against the depiction of Muslims in the video "Innocence of Muslims." Violence linked to the movie has left dozens in seven countries dead, including the American ambassador to Libya.
The ad was plastered on San Francisco city buses in recent weeks, prompting some people to deface the ads and remove some of the words, including "Jihad," or holy war.
Geller said the subway ads cost about $6,000. The MTA said they will be up for a month.
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Rachel Corey stood between an Israeli bulldozer and a Palestinian home. Rachel got killed.
Speech is free, only within the red lines which the civilized world has been conditioned to recognize.
But, then, the dull witted have no problem displaying every aspect of their insipidity.
rheola-2009 apologizes for their evident inability to write correctly over spans of five or more words, but their shallowness is obvious throughout their statement.
Among other things, marching in the dullard's lockstep to the lies spread by athesits against religion. For example, accusing religion of being the source of all misery in the world. Conveniently forgetting, or deliberately ignoring, that none of the wars of history, from the Crusades to steal Muslim resources and trade routes; to the Thirty Years War; to the Hundred Years War; to the English Civil War; to the Revolutionary War; to the American Civil War; to the Spanish-American War; to the Boer War; to the World Wars; to the Korean War; to the War in Vietnam had absolutely nothing to do with religion! All were the machinations of those who benefited, namely, the corporate thugs! But don't expect atheist liars to admit that fact!
And, quite frankly, it is a lie to say there is no evidence of the p
[resence of God! It can be seen, but you have to deserve to see it! And deserving comes from living by exemplarily worthy, noble and ethical principles, working to make the world better, not giving in to cravenness, and doing it not for the benefits it bestows but because you know it's right! Once you do that, you will see God's immediate and obvious interaction in your life. Those who do not see any such proof of God are openly admitting that they are low, mendacious, self absorbed pustules.
The ilk of 88Ronin admit that about themselves, as well.
And, note, too, no one taking issue with the ad's endorsement of opposing "Jihad". The ad was written for those liteally so dim witted that they do not know whatv "Jihad" means! "Jihad" means a struggle of conscience, it means something taken on not for craven self aggradisement or profiteering, but for principle. Inasmuch as "democracy" exists solely to make the rich richer, right down to its wars, which are blqamed on religion, to hide the fact that government is the puppet of the rich, fighting for principle seems something so many in "democracies" would find foolish, if they didn't also see it as a threat to their foul, malignant, relentlessly greedy atrocities towad others. Jihad can also be in the purpose of fighting things that even Westerners might see as trenchant, as a matter of principle. BUt the dull witted group this ad is aimed at think "Jihad" only means wanting to kill Americans. Which only shows the stupidity this ad relies on.
Given time, nuclear weopons will be thrown about in the name of Allah and Yaweh, to impress upon us all, each others form of superstitous.
That massive lie of an afterlife, drives these incomperhensinle fools.
For example suicide bombers are always the young dispensible, their leaders are not so sure of that afterlife and 72 virgins to volunteer.
If only these gullible stupid people would open their eyes, and see the there is not one pice of evidence to support the existance of a God, an afterlife or the creationist theory, whilst a mountain of evidence exists to support the theory of evolution, and is increasing daily.
"YOU" cannot see gravity or electricity yet I know they exist and so do you!! You seek proof that GOD exists before you trust your life to him. I can dig it. But you have failed to realize one thing, GOD knows that 'you' exist and has been waiting for you to really 'want' to know him. All nature proves GOD to me and you but I know how to ask for his answers and you have never learned how to listen to him.
There is no 'trick' to it, just an attitude. You just don't know how to listen yet...
What about plan B, go have a barbecue and watch a movie while both these lunatic groups fight it out.?
I read the story that a peace loving woman, who BTW supports Islam women (a picture was chosen from where she was bravely walking for women in Egypt's rights), was caught (not defacing property and spray painting a hero of the first amendment), but expressing her right to destroy the hate speech of the Jews. Comment from the Jew hate group was that they could care less that they enrage and what violence is caused by their careless use of speech. They expressed no remorse for the fake you tube video that actually killed our ambassador.
BTW did I forget the mention that this woman was highly respected and published?
Please stop it! Your fair and balance reporting is disgusting AP.