Variety pulls pro-BDS ad accusing Israel of ‘apartheid’

Entertainment magazine Variety refuses to publish an advertisement that says, “Don’t endorse Israeli apartheid.”

Jewish Voice for Peace, or JVP, a group that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, announced Monday that the magazine initially accepted payment for the group’s ad but then said it could not publish it since “it would need to have a softer tone.”

The ad, whose top line reads “Free Trip to Israel at the Expense of Palestinians,” calls on Oscar nominees to refuse a free Israel trip worth $55,000 offered in their “swag bags.”

JVP says in a statement it had asked for suggestions of “specific edits,” but was told that: “The topic is too sensitive at this time and we will not be in a position to add it to next week’s edition.”

JVP Executive Director Rebecca Vilkomerson calls the refusal “a clear and disturbing example of the constraints on public debate about Palestine and Israel. Variety’s refusal to print our ad — especially in the context of the pro-occupation ads they have published in the past — illustrates a clear bias. Messages that support Israel are acceptable, while those that assert the humanity of Palestinians are censored.”

— JTA