Chicago campaign growing
Chicago campaign growing
We’re rolling in Chicago—again and again!
We launched the inaugural phase of the “Be on our side” campaign on October 4, 2010 with dozens of posters on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) system. The advertisements, installed for a contracted period of four weeks, were posted inside trains on the Blue and Red Line, as well as in waiting platform areas on the Red Line at the Monroe, Jackson, and Chicago stations, and on the Blue Line at the Jackson, Washington, and Monroe stations. Four days after the signs were posted on the CTA system, a press conference was held to bring media attention to the campaign.
In May 2011, phase two of the “Be on our side” campaign launched with posters on the backs of buses on the Chicago Transit Authority system. The signs were installed on numerous bus routes that depart from the Kedzie and North Park terminals and criss-cross the city. Thousands of viewers saw the message on the move—pedestrians and drivers alike—and had the opportunity to contemplate the call for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel and learn about the issue by visiting the website listed prominently on the ads. Simultaneously, hundreds of “Fast Facts” pocket cards were distributed around the city as part of a guerilla marketing campaign in support of the transit ads.
Phase three of the Chicago campaign hit the streets in late July, 2011 and ran through August. Travelers encountered our signs on board Red and Blue CTA trains and on underground platforms at Jackson/Blue, Washington/Blue, and Monroe/Red. We’re delighted that the tens of thousands of Chicagoans and visitors that use the public transit system have been exposed to an important perspective that is sadly underrepresented in the mainstream media.
We networked with activists from across the U.S. by participating in a workshop at the “Move Over AIPAC” conference in Washington, DC, on May 22,2011, on the topic Buses, Billboards, and Digital Displays: Creative Tactics to Oppose U.S. Military Aid to Israel.
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk’s extreme positions on Israel/Palestine were highlighted in an action at Chicago’s Daley Plaza organized by CJPIP on August 18, 2011. Campaign activists spoke with interested passersby, distributing hundreds of informative flyers about Kirk’s appalling, egregious statements and policy positions. Learn more and see CJPIP’s hot new YouTube video about Senator Kirk.
Initiated by the Chicago-area organization, the Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (www.cjpip.org), the “Be on our side” media and education project promotes a positive, productive U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The campaign is building awareness about the massive scale of U.S. aid to Israel, the ways that aid is used, the negative consequences of the aid, and the need to end it now. The companion website, www.TwoPeoplesOneFuture.org is a content-rich resource designed to educate readers about U.S. military aid to Israel, as well as offer action steps for individuals wanting to make a positive pro-peace, pro-justice statement. Please read the principles that inspire the “Be on our side” campaign.
Since its successful launch in Chicago in 2010, the campaign has expanded to other U.S. cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Albuquerque, NM. Other cities are slated to launch “Be on our side” advertising campaigns in the coming months. We’ve received impressive coverage in the mediaThe campaign has also drawn attention from Israel advocacy organizations seeking to maintain the status quo by recycling racist stereotypes about Palestinians and tired old smears against critics of Israeli policy.
Read here how to bring the campaign to your city!
Stay in touch with the “Be on our side” campaign as it grows! Join our email distribution list for periodic updates about campaign developments. Our companion Facebook page has over 1,000 subscribers—join us there for related news and updates!
Financial support from donors who believe in the importance of our mission has been a key ingredient to our success. Please contribute generously using the DONATE button at the side of this page.
