Ms. Magazine rejected a pro-Israel ad seen here from the American Jewish Congress, the advertisement shows 3 successful Women in Israel. Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni and the President of the Supreme Court, Dorit Beinish. Harriet Kurlander, Director of AJC Commission for Women Empowerment said that she was told by Ms. Magazine that if the ad was permitted to be run, "it would set off a firestorm...there are very strong opinions..." on the subject, which Ms. Kurlander can only believe means Israel.
AJC President Richard Gordon said, "What other conclusions can we reach except that the publishers...are so hostile to Israel that they do not even want to see an ad that says something positive about Israel?"
Ms. Magazine Executive Editor Katherine Spillar disputes that saying, "...the ad showed political support for one of Israel's parties and thus violated magazine standards. We only take mission driven ads because two of the Women in this ad were from the same political party, that showed favoritism and the magazine's policy is not to get involved in the domestic politics of another country."
In the Fall, 2003 issue the magazine ran a cover featuring Queen Noor, in the Winter 2004 issue the magazine, contained an article on the Ramallah Film Festival and ran a story entitled "Images of Palestine."
Kenneth Jacobson, Associate National Director of the Anti-Defamation League said, "On its face its a very troubling story...here a magazine devoted both to free expression and to Womens Rights and an ad is submitted to it which represents free expression and Womens Rights and the response to it, apparently, that is too controversial."
