The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization that advocates for peace, said on Monday the group cancelled a planned advertisement in the New York Times in response to the paper refusing to allow it to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.
“The refusal of The New York Times to run paid digital ads that call for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth,” said Joyce Ajlouny, general secretary for the AFSC, in a press release. “Palestinians and allies have been silenced and marginalized in the media for decades as these institutions choose silence over accountability. It is only by challenging this reality that we can hope to forge a path toward a more just and equitable world.”
The group claimed a representative with the advertising team at the New York Times suggested they use the word “war” instead of “genocide”.
According to the AFSC press release, when the group refused, the New York Times responded with an email that read, in part: “Various international bodies, human rights organizations, and governments have differing views on the situation. In line with our commitment to factual accuracy and adherence to legal standards, we must ensure that all advertising content complies with these widely applied definitions.”
The AFSC cited groups such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, the University Network for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and several Palestinian human rights groups that have deemed that Israel is committing genocide or acts of genocide in Gaza.
“New York Times Advertising works with parties submitting proposed ads to ensure they are in compliance with our acceptability guidelines,” a spokesperson for the New York Times said in response to questions from the Guardian. “This instance was no different, and is entirely in line with the standards we apply to all ad submissions.”
The AFSC has been supporting humanitarian efforts in Gaza and lobbying in the US for a “permanent cease-fire, full humanitarian access, release of all who are held captive, and an end to US military funding for Israel”.
The group also pointed to an ad taken out by Amnesty International in the Washington Post this past weekend that characterized Israel’s actions as genocide.
The New York Times has previously run advertisements using the term. In 2016, it published an ad from the Armenian Educational Foundation thanking Kim Kardashian for opposing denial of the Armenian genocide. In 2008, presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain co-signed a letter advertisement in the New York Times calling out the genocide in Darfur.
The Times’ advertising guidelines state that its “advertising space is open to all points of view” and that submissions may be subjected to factchecking. It reserves the right to reject an ad if it is found to be deceptive or inaccurate.
