The American Jewish Congress called the magazine's decision "contemptible" and "hostile" toward Israel, The New York Sun reported Wednesday.

The group said that the decision seemed to be motivated by anti-Israel sentiment among the publication's staff and its readers.

The advertisement, which includes the words "This is Israel," features photographs of the president of Israel's Supreme Court, Dorit Beinisch; Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and the speaker of the Knesset, Dalia Itzik.

According to the American Jewish Congress, Ms. magazine declined the advertisement due to a feeling it would incite a "firestorm" of response, the newspaper reported.

"It has been a firestorm, only different than the one Ms. predicted," the director of the group's Commission for Women's Empowerment, Harriet Kurlander, said at a news conference.

Ms. Magazine's executive editor, Katherine Spillar, said the magazine turned down the advertisement because it was outside the publication's mission.

"Our role at Ms. magazine is not to promote countries, it is to report on what's happening to women in different countries," she said.