American Freedom Defense Initiative bus ad
American Freedom Defense Initiative bus ad

As of tomorrow morning, Adolf Hitler is getting some company on buses in D.C.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, purchased a month-long ad buy on more than 20 Metrobuses on routes in the District with a message of inclusiveness, according to Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national communication director.

Those ads are responding to ones purchased by Pamela Geller of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which call for an end to U.S. foreign aid to Islamic countries and prominently feature a picture of Hitler talking to Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini during World War II. (If that’s not enough bus ad drama, Geller’s ads were, themselves, a response to American Muslims for Palestine, a group that previously purchased bus ads calling for a stop to U.S. aid to Israel.)

“It’s unfortunate that we have to even respond to the hate filled ads that Pamela Geller puts out,” says Hooper. “People have opinions on the Middle East conflict, and you can have those opinions without promoting political hatred.”

This isn’t the first time Geller and CAIR have had a back and forth on D.C. transit. In 2012, Geller placed pro-Israel ads in Metro stations saying those who do not support Israel are savages. In response, CAIR purchased ads next to those quoting the Quran: “Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.”

Hooper says the new CAIR ads will be made public tomorrow at a press conference. The group asked for the ads to be on buses with similar routes as Geller’s ads, but is not exactly sure where they will be.

Screenshot via News Channel 8