Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall launched a new digital billboard campaign in Birmingham to galvanize support for Israel – in direct contrast to a nearby “Stand with Palestine” billboard adjacent to his. Marshall launched a “Stand with Israel” message on October 7, the one-year anniversary of Hamas beginning their brutal assault on Israel, which continues today.
“The genesis was definitely the billboard that we saw in Birmingham that said, ‘Stand with Palestine,’” Marshall told Yellowhammer News. “Not only sort of my personal beliefs and the work that we’ve been involved in through the AG’s office, but just where we collectively are in the state of Alabama, felt like it was important that we make a statement that we ‘Stand with Israel.’”
Marshall said the timing of the billboard’s launch was deliberate on the one-year recognition of the attack, which was also marked by many Republican elected officials in Alabama as a vilified act of war by Hamas and its supporters. But also because the hatred driving the conflict overseas can be witnessed here within the state.
He cited the antisemitic graffiti and pro-Palestinian protests at Auburn University over the weekend as a reflection of the clear need to affirm Alabama’s support for Israel.
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“You look at Auburn, when people misstate the meaning of ‘From the River to the Sea,’ that is beyond just simply some generic comment. In fact, it deals with whether or not Israel should exist as a nation,” Marshall said. “The other thing that I think is reflective of where people in Alabama are, is the number of people that came out to clean that graffiti off of Auburn’s campus. I think it was a positive statement, number one. But also, I think it shows where the majority of the sentiment is.”
So far, law enforcement has stated that they are continuing to investigate the incident. For Marshall, the billboards are also an expression of the state’s longstanding connection to Israel, which he says is deeply rooted in shared values and faith.
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“For a state that places significant emphasis on faith, there is a clear connection between people in Alabama and Israel itself,” he said. “Many of us have had the privilege of being able to travel and to go to Jerusalem, to go to many of the holy sites. There is, maybe more so than any other nation, a connection that we have with Israel that’s unique, and it’s special.”
Marshall traveled to a community less than a mile from the Gaza border just three weeks before the October 7 attacks, where he spoke with residents about their hopes for peace and security.
“As somebody who then watched with horror what took place on October 7, there is a unique and special connection with the people of Israel and those in the Jewish faith and what they have suffered through antisemitic behavior,” Marshall said.
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270
