(JTA) — A full-page advertisement reproducing Israel’s Declaration of Independence appeared in The New York Times and USA Today.
The Helmsley Charitable Trust funded the ads in Monday’s editions on the eve of Israel’s Independence Day.
“By publishing Israel’s founding document in two of the most widely read newspapers across the country, we will reach many Americans who often don’t have the chance to learn about the deep similarities between our countries due to media coverage that focuses primarily on conflict,” Helmsley trustee Sandor Frankel said in a statement. “The promise of Israel’s founders to uphold, in a Jewish state, social and political equality of all citizens without distinction of race, creed or sex; to guarantee the full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture; to safeguard the sanctity of holy places of all religions; and the call for peace with all neighboring states, resonates with America’s own deepest values.”
The ad, which also is available online, is being distributed by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the umbrella of some 50 American national Jewish organizations.
The Helmsley Trust has awarded more than $110 million in grants to Israeli organizations since 2009, mainly to Israeli scientific, technological and medical research.