(JTA) — An atheist organization’s Hebrew-language billboard calling God a “myth” was not unveiled near a Brooklyn Chasidic enclave as scheduled.
The billboard sponsored by the American Atheists organization was supposed to be unveiled Tuesday in New York’s South Williamsburg, but workers from the advertising company who came to erect the sign on top of an apartment building were denied admittance to the building by the landlord, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
The group will erect the billboard on Thursday at a site on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near the original site, MSNBC reported.
David Silverman, president of American Atheists, blamed the hitch in the group’s plans on powerful neighborhood rabbis, according to the Brooklyn Paper.
“The Jews have stopped the billboard,” Silverman told the newspaper. “It’s really ugly bigotry. As a former Jew, it’s repugnant to see Jews act like this.”
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Landlord Kenny Stier told the newspaper that “I don’t want to get involved in this.”
On Wednesday, the group is set to erect an Arabic-language billboard with the same message near an Islamic center in Paterson, New Jersey, a community with a large Muslim population.
The billboards advertise an atheist rally in Washington on March 24.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
