An Israeli ad campaign aimed at expatriates that was withdrawn last year after criticism by the American Jewish community has reappeared online and in an Israeli magazine.

A print ad, calling on Israelis living in the United States to return to Israel, appeared in Atmosphera, the magazine of El Al Airlines. The ad was in Hebrew, the Washington Jewish Week reported.

In addition, a video advertisement promoting the same message continues to appear on the website of the Israeli Ministry of Absorption.

Israeli Embassy spokesman Lior Wein-traub told the Washington Jewish Week that “this particular ad is addressed exclusively to an Israeli audience and it’s in Hebrew. It should not be offensive to American Jewry.”

The ad is similar to those posted late last year on billboards in at least five American cities, including Palo Alto, and broadcast on satellite TV channels with Israeli content.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the ads removed from the Internet and television in December after American Jews argued that they demeaned American Jewish life. — jta