The billboard designs for the Netherlands showed images of different hostages, mentioning their names and the fact that they are being held in Gaza, with the slogan “She/He cannot testify today. Photo: Government Press Office.
Israel’s National Directorate of Public Diplomacy prepared a billboard campaign in the Netherlands to raise awareness about the 136 hostages who remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip after more than three months.
After consulting with more than 10 billboard companies in the Hague, Rotterdam and airport areas, and after moving forward with the project and defining the design, the chosen company decided at the last minute to cancel the campaign.
The posters showed images of the hostages, and along with that, a red sign with the name and a text that said: “He/She cannot testify today.”
Following this incident, Moshik Aviv, head of the National Directorate of Public Diplomacy, stated that “attempts to silence the voices of the hostages will be met with a strong voice. Even in front of the court in The Hague, there are those who choose an aggressive and scandalous way to take down an information campaign on hundreds of billboards throughout the Netherlands, including The Hague. The truth will prevail, and the State of Israel will continue to uphold the justice of its path and tell the entire world the truth. We are carrying out an unprecedented international information campaign. “They won’t be able to silence us.”
Moriya Shalom, executive director of the Government Advertising Agency, expressed that “the editors’ refusal is a serious attack on freedom of expression and Israel’s right to speak forcefully against the terrorism suffered by its citizens. “This is a crude attempt to silence the voices of the Israeli hostages, who were kidnapped during the murderous Hamas terrorist attack.”
