Provocative anti-Jihad ad appears on Chicago buses

A provocative advertisement equating Muslim radicals fighting Israel with savages is appearing on Chicago buses and angering both Muslim and Jewish groups.

The Chicago Transit Authority says it, too, objects to the ads and understands they may be offensive to transit riders. But the CTA says courts have ruled the ad is protected speech under the First Amendment.

The ad reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”

Conservative blogger Pamela Geller is behind the ad, which also has appeared on transit systems in New York and Washington.

The ads began appearing Wednesday on 10 CTA buses.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations says the campaign is racist, and the Chicago-based Jewish Council on Urban Affairs calls it demeaning.