Times Square in New York. (photo credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew)
An advertisement calling for the return of three kidnapped Israeli teens is running on a digital billboard in Times Square.
“On June 12th, 2014, three teenage boys were kidnapped in Israel, one of them an American citizen,” reads the 40-foot-by-40-foot ad purchased by the Young Israel of the West Side, an Orthodox synagogue in Manhattan. “These boys are not soldiers. They are not fighters. They are not violent. These boys are our sons. Our brothers. Our grandchildren. Our nephews. Our friends. Please help create global awareness.”
The ad airs for 15 seconds twice every hour, which usually costs $15,000, the New York Post reported. The synagogue was mum on the cost of its ad, which appeared for the first time on Tuesday.
The ad displays photos of the abducted teens — Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach — and the hashtag #bringbackourboys.
A sign showing pictures of Gil-ad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, saying “Bring Back Our Boys” hangs outside a residence on Ramban street, Jerusalem, on June 20, 2014. (Photo credit: Hadas Parush/Flash90)
Israel said it has proof that the three teens were abducted by the Hamas terrorist group from a junction in Gush Etzion, located south of Jerusalem.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
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.
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