OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - When stopping at a red light, seeing a specialty license plate might catch one’s eye, and it can be fun to figure out the meaning. But one Omaha man says the message he saw on a license plate is appalling.

Joe, who asked that his last name remain anonymous, says he and a elderly Jewish relative take offense to a personalized plate that reads “HAMAS” on a car parked an apartment parking lot.

The U.S. State Department first identified Hamas as a terrorist group in 1997.

“On a license plate that was issued by the State of Nebraska, that’s a little concerning,” Joe said.

Joe says he isn’t asking for censorship from the Nebraska DMV, but for safety in traffic.

“There’s a lot of crazy people out in this world,” Joe said. “Some might give them a high-five and some might flip them off and start road rage.”

David Goldenberg, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, says he wants to see the Nebraska DMV take action.

“It’s deplorable and completely inexcusable,” David said. “I think what’s important is to get this license plate off the streets and recognize the significance of the word on that plate, and to realize that if somebody sees that on the streets, they’re going to feel jarred. It’s a jarring experience.”

First Alert 6 reached out to the Nebraska DMV for comment and a representative said the department would respond after a review is finished this week. But two years ago, the administrator of vehicle records, Betty Johnson, told First Alert 6 that 15,000 vanity plate requests are scrutinized every year.

“We do, on occasion, have ones that slip through and they’ll typically come to our attention because somebody will contact us and ask, ‘Do you really want this message on a plate?’” Johnson told First Alert 6 in 2023.

That’s a question Joe says he’ll answer.

“Almost like a plate that says Nazi or a swastika or KKK or something like that,” Joe said. “It just has a bad connotation to it.”

The DMV restricts the public from identifying the holder of a license plate, so First Alert 6 left a contact card on the vehicle if the owner wants to provide an explanation.

“Maybe that’s an acronym?” David said. “I don’t think it’s an acronym. Even if it is, we need recognize what Hamas is.”

The internationally-designated terrorist group is responsible for 1,200 deaths in the attack on Israel in October 2023. Goldenberg says those killings are glorified half-a-world away on the streets of Omaha with a license plate that says “Hamas.”

The anti-defamation league says it also alerted DMV officials in Illinois and California, which recall license plates with negative references to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5690016&forum_id=2#48721949)