UPDATE, Feb. 10:

Sometime over the weekend, less than a week after it was put up, the proud Zionist image was torn off of the billboard. See photos below. The Arcata Police Department is investigating the vandalism.

Lt. Todd Dockweiler tells the Outpost that the call first reporting the crime came in on Saturday, and there are no known security cameras nearby. He noted the deluge of negative responses to the billboard on social media and elsewhere, adding, “The pool of suspects is large.”

Photos by Andrew Goff.

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Original post:

The billboard next to Highway 101.


Drivers heading south from Arcata today may have noticed a new billboard off to the right of Highway 101, a message that reads “Call me a Zionist. It only makes me prouder” against a background of a woman in front of the flag of Israel.

The slogan was put up by David Porush of San Mateo, according to the Jewish News of Northern California. Porush has also paid for a billboard reading “America and Israel: Fighting Terrorism Together” in Redwood City. Porush runs an organization called Code Blue and White and got the funding from JewBelong, a nonprofit known for its pro-Israel billboards.

Porush worked with Israel-born Arcata resident Tamar Krigel to design the slogan. 

The billboard is proving controversial. One post on the Humboldt subreddit calling for its demolition has over 100 upvotes. Dozens of commenters bemoan its Zionist message and its inflammatory effect on the community. 

“Cut it the fuck down,” said one anonymous commenter. “Mr. Molotov would be happy to help,” said another. 

Krigel told the Jewish News of Northern California that she reached out to Parush to design a billboard after last spring’s pro-Palestine occupation shut campus down for a week. 

The Outpost is waiting on a statement from Krigel. 

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[EXPLANATORY ADDENDUM: Geoff Wills, owner of local company AllPoints Signs, called the Outpost to say that while his company installed this advertisement, he does not own the billboard, nor was he involved in the sale or contract terms. As such, he asks that complaints be directed elsewhere.]