It’s another case of signage at BART causing controversy after billboards with messages linked to hate groups are spotted at a pair of BART stations.
The age-old debate of free speech versus hate speech has been reignited as BART says its hands in this matter are tied.
It is an electronic billboard in the Montgomery BART Station that simply reads, “History Matters.” It is a statement that is generally accepted by most people.
However, the group responsible for the ad, the Institute for Historical Review, is considered anti-Semitic by organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Denying the Holocaust is among the reasons IHR has been labeled anti-Semitic, but Mark Weber, the president of the organization, told KRON4 the Institute for Historical Review does not deny the Holocaust and says IHR has unfairly been labeled a hate group.
BART officials sent KRON4 a statement regarding the transit agency’s decision to display the billboard that reads in part:
“We can’t deny the ads as they are written. Transit agencies have fought this battle in court and have lost. If the ad included fighting words, we could reject it but as written, we cannot.”
The fact that the IHR chose to run the ad during the Jewish High Holy Days is not lost on some BART passengers.
You will also find the billboard on the platform of the Powell Street Station.
The ads will run throughout the month of September.