• BostInno, Friday, February 7, 2014 2:46 PM

A new advertisement appearing on 100 MBTA buses this month, comparing the size of Israel to Massachusetts, has come under fire for what some call its racially biased message.

The ad reads: "Will more land for the Arabs really bring PEACE? 22 ARAB countries are 650 times larger than ISRAEL. The ARAB world is the size of the US. ISRAEL is the size of Massachusetts."

In the center of the ad, a map depicts "The Arab World and Israel."

While the ad has sparked controversy, the Newton-based Russian Jewish Community Foundation, the group behind the recent campaign, insists it isn't an attack on Arabs.

Born in Soviet Russia, RJFC President Alex Koifman insists, despite what others have said, that the ad is not a hateful attack.

"[The ad] doesn't say anything like that," Koifman said during a phone interview with BostInno. A racist, he said, is  "someone who thinks that one race is superior to the other."

That's not the RJFC's message, he said. According to Koifman, the ad is intended to showcase how small Israel is compared to the Arab World.

"That's ridiculous!" Koifman said, when asked to respond to "racist" claims.

"Israel is a very, very small country," he said. "The conflict between Arabs and Jews ... isn't about land – it's about Israel's right to exist... With so much land, how much more land do Arabs need for peace?  Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians, Muslims and Jews live in peace and are free to express their beliefs."

The ad is also sponsored by Christians and Jews United for Israel and Americans for Peace and Tolerance. Koifman said they have no affiliation with the American Freedom Defense Initiative.

"When we say 'the Arabs,'" Koifman explained, "we say the 'Arab World.'"

The map used in the RJCF ad was taken directly from the Arab World Wikipedia page, Koifman said.

Although the term Arab isn't itself racially incentive, it stands to reason that backlash toward the ad thus far has focused on its language. Since Koifman used Wikipedia as a reference, it should be noted that the same source also states:

"The term "Arab world" is usually rejected by those living in the region, who do not consider themselves Arabs, like Berbers and Kurds, as it implies the entire region is Arab in its identity, population, and origin, whereas the original homeland of the Arabs is the Arabian Peninsula. The term is also rejected by some indigenous Semitic minorities such as the Jews, Assyrians, etc. and many of Maronites and Copts, as they pre-date Arabs in North Africa, Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean."

BostInno reached out to Boston's Network of Arab-American Professionals for comment, but didn't received an immediate response.

Possible designs for the ad, Koifman said, were developed by "a number of people," including independent designers, in New York and Boston, who donated their work. Koifman, however, was responsible for signing off on the final concept.

A personal note from Koifman, provided to BostInno in an email and explaining the final design reads:

"I was very surprised to learn how few people know how tiny Israel is, even those who follow the Middle East conflict.  We decided to create this geographical ad to show the size of Israel relative to the Arab world... This geographical map is an educational advertisement that should steer a public debate if Peace is attainable by more Israeli land concessions."  

The ad's graphics were done by Shalum Shalumov, an architectural and graphic designer.

BostInno first reported the RJCF ad Tuesday, February 4. Koifman, however, was under the impression that the ads wouldn't appear until Feb. 6 or Feb. 10.

"They paid for the campaign to run for the month of February," T spokesman Joe Pesaturo told BostInno in the first of a series of emails. "The month of February began six days ago."

However, Pesaturo later confirmed that the contract start-date is, indeed, Feb 10.

"Titan received the printed materials early and began posting to make sure all 100 ads would be up by [February 10]."

Thus far, Koifman said, the RJCF has not received any direct complaints about the ad.

"There's been no negative response from our community."

According to Koifman, the RJCF's community base consists of 50,000 Russian-speaking Jews in the Boston area.

The initial cost to display the ads, Koifman said, was $5,000, "just for the first month." He explained, however, that cost is likely to go up because the RJCF has plans to extend the campaign beyond the month of February, and put more signs up at other locations in the Boston area, like the Government Center garage, other T stations or in newspapers.

"Wherever we find it appropriate," he said.

Read the whole story at BostInno »