Palestinians annoyed by Subaru spoof ad

THE Palestinian Authority has called on the Israeli branch of carmaker Subaru to take action after an apparent parody advertisement showed one of their cars hitting Palestinian youths.
The supposed advertisement, which appeared on several websites, showed a well-known picture of an Israeli settler leader running over stone-throwing boys in east Jerusalem last year in a vehicle made by the Japanese carmaker.
Imposed over the scene was the Hebrew slogan: "See who will stand in your way..."
"It is not clear whether this is a genuine advertisement or whether someone is making use of the Subaru logo," a Palestinian government statement said.
Nevertheless, they said they had written to Subaru, urging them to take action against this "horrible use of a picture".
"We urge you to take all necessary steps to stop the circulation of this despicable and disgraceful ad and condemn it," the letter said.
In a statement to AFP, Subaru's Tel Aviv office said: "We have nothing to do with this incident and we strongly protest those who would harm our good reputation."
The picture used in the advert comes from an October 2010 incident in which settler leader David Beeri hit and lightly injured two masked stone-throwing boys, aged 10 and 11, in the flashpoint Silwan neighbourhood in east Jerusalem.
The incident was recorded by photographers and journalists who were there to cover the unrest that often follows Friday prayers.