Almost everyone is now familiar with the missing persons displays of the Israeli Hamas hostages, which can be seen on and in many buildings and in the cityscape of many metropolises. Journalists wanted to make a big splash with a campaign to publicise the moving search operation in Berlin and rented display panels. But the authorities forbid the terror hostages from Israel to be shown!
Germany’s largest advertising space marketer Wall AG had to turn down an order from the journalist blog Salonkolumnisten. According to an article in the newspaper Tagesspiegel, the journalists wanted to place missing persons ads for the almost 200 hostages kidnapped by Hamas from Israel on large displays of the company in the Mitte district of Berlin – combined with the demand that these people be “brought home alive”. Who could possibly object?
Apparently the government of Berlin! More specifically, the Berlin public transport company BVG, to which Wall AG, as a contractual partner, has to submit “political” advertisements for approval.
BVG forbade Wall AG to publish the missing persons ads!
The objection of David Harnasch, managing director of Salonkolumnisten, that it was not a political campaign but an advertisement for a “fundamental gesture of humanity” did not alter the decision.
When asked by the Tagesspiegel, a spokeswoman for the Berlin traffic administration wrote: “The danger of an aggravating conflict with consequences for public safety, as well as the risk for the advertising installations and ultimately also for the Wall company are too great”.
In concrete terms, this means that the Berlin traffic administration is afraid of the Arab mobs that have been taking over the streets at pro-Hamas marches since October 7, chanting anti-Jewish slogans and attacking police officers.
Meanwhile, all over the world, the red and white missing persons notices from Israel are hung showing the faces of the terror victims – only the capital Berlin and its famous public transport companies, which like to pretend they are particularly left-wing and relaxed, say the topic is “too hot”. The spokesperson added in her message: “Regardless of this, we stand firmly by Israel’s side” – but in view of the ban, this seems to be more lip service.