Campaign Against the Advertising Standards Authority Ban on Israel's use of Photo of Western Wall

The ZCC is supporting the Zionist Federation and the Board Of Deputies  in that both organisations are disturbed to read the adjudication (14 April) of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about an advert for tourism in Israel. By saying that photos of the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock cannot be shown in Israel tourism advertising, the ASA is therefore preventing them being shown in ANY tourism advertising.

That cannot be to the benefit of tourists. We note that this ASA adjudication can be reviewed by the Independent Reviewer (Sir Hayden Phillips) at the request of the advertiser and that he can call for a review if there is “a substantial flaw of process or adjudication …. or where additional relevant evidence becomes available.” We hope that there is such a review and that this results in the ASA Council changing its ruling.

STATEMENT FROM THE ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM  

Minister of Tourism, Mr. Stas Misezhnikov stated in reaction: Jerusalem, through the city's myriad of religious and historical sites, is one of the most important tourism destinations in the State of Israel. The city attracts on a yearly basis millions of tourists of all faiths and nationalities, regardless of their personal or political persuasion.

The Ministry of Tourism is positioning Israel worldwide as the Holy Land, with Jerusalem at it's core, which represents more than a city of Peace, but also the united capital of the State of Israel. Just as no religious faction would interfere with the official stand of the English government regarding the country's marketing policy, so the attempt to do so towards Israel is at the outset flawed and therefore, under no circumstances negotiable.

We encourage you to write to the ASA as we have done asking them to ensure a review is carried out regarding their ruling about an advert for tourism in Israel.

You can email them to: enquiries@asa.org.uk

STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT

The ASA's decision offers a contemporary example of an apparently growing trend to obliterate Jerusalem's connection with it's Jewish roots. Aware of this mounting delegitimization, Board President Vivian Wineman issued the following statement on Yom Haatzmaut:
 

"We are compelled on this occasion to express our profound concern that in recent weeks discourse surrounding Jerusalem appears to have evolved into a whitewashing of history, ignorant at best, intentionally deceptive at worst, shamelessly obliterating Jerusalem's place as the eternal physical and spiritual capital of the Jewish people since time immemorial.

This narrative has gathered a troubling groundswell of biased media coverage, actions reminiscent of a boycott agenda and an anxious, outraged British Jewish community is asking whether this is a trend to delegitimize Israel's right to exist as the sole Jewish state in the world.

For Jewish people around the globe, Jerusalem has and will always be at the core of their identities. Jews have maintained a significant presence in Jerusalem for thousands of years; with the city containing Judaism's most sacred site, the Western Wall, the site of the former holy Temples. Importantly, Israel guarantees genuine open access to all Christian and Muslim religious sites in Jerusalem, demonstrating a concern and respect for all other beliefs.