A pro-traditional family banner advertisement put up on the side of a hotel in Jerusalem was removed Wednesday morning, following pressure from LGBT activists.
The banner, which had been paid for by the Hazon (Vision) movement and placed on the hotel by an advertising firm which rents the hotel’s exterior walls for such advertisements, read “A Father + A Mother = A Family. The courage to be normal.” The advertisement had been placed on the side of the Prima Park Hotel in the capital.
On Wednesday morning, however, the hotel’s management ordered the removal of the advertisement, and issued an apology via the hotel’s Facebook account, calling the ad “racist”.
“I am sorry and I apologize for the offensive sign which was put up on the wall of the Prima Park Hotel in Jerusalem,” wrote Prima CEO Avi Dor.
“The advertisement was put up by an outside advertising company which we rent ad space to. After we noticed the offensive and racist advertisement, which we totally condemn and distance ourselves from, the sign was removed. We will work to ensure that in the future, every sign is checked before it goes up on the hotel’s wall. I thank everyone who brought this to our attention, and again, we are sorry for the harm this sign caused.”
An LGBT activist shared a letter via Facebook that he had written to the hotel’s management demanding the sign’s removal.
“The moment you aid this backwardness, you exclude me and an entire community from your hotels. That’s too bad, because the Eurovision [in Tel Aviv] and the [gay] parade are coming up, and there will be tons of tourists. I suggest you rethink hanging these paid advertisements on your hotels.”