Kraft’s organization is also launching an ad blitz against antisemitism on ‘Sunday Night Football’
IAK NOTE: Thanks to a yearslong program of indoctrination by pro-Israel organizations, the word “antisemitism” has taken on a new, distorted meaning that can include nearly all criticism of Israel – in other words, disapproval of the self-proclaimed “Jewish State” may be incorrectly labeled antisemitic. Though it is spelled out here, Robert Kraft’s Israel affinity is well-known.
Zionism, the ideology on which Israel is built, is not a benign philosophy, but a supremacist ideology – the ideology under which 750,000 Palestinian people were dispossessed and exiled to Gaza and other locations. The so-called “demonization” of Israel is in most cases a legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies of occupation, apartheid, genocide, and other illegal practices.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is rebranding under the name Blue Square Alliance Against Hate and launching a new advertisement focused on antisemitism that’s slated to debut on “Sunday Night Football” this weekend, Jewish Insider has learned.
The rebranded group, whose blue square pins have become a ubiquitous symbol in the fight against antisemitism, is airing the “Sunday Night Football” ad as part of a $10 million media campaign designed to redouble awareness of the steep rise of anti-Jewish hate.
The new ad campaign, titled “When There Are No Words,” will be airing on one of the most-watched shows on broadcast television — during a game between the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions. Taylor Swift, engaged to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, is also expected to be in attendance and to draw her own fans to the broadcast, expanding the audience for the advertisement’s debut.
“What do you say when a Jewish boy is kicked on a New York City sidewalk?” a voice asks as the 30-second commercial begins. “What do you say when a Holocaust survivor is firebombed in the streets of Colorado? What do you say when one in three Jewish Americans was a victim of hate last year? When there are no words, there’s still a symbol to show you care. The blue square.”
The name change and advertisement campaign — which will be supplemented by billboards and social media posts — are an extension of the foundation’s “Blue Square” campaign, which launched in March 2023, aiming to turn the blue square into the symbol for Jewish solidarity and opposition to hatred against Jewish people. The organization has since debuted a blue square pin and bracelet for allies against Jewish hate to wear publicly.
“This campaign is laser-focused on building recognition and appreciation for what the Blue Square represents and the importance it has in cultivating allies against antisemitism,” Adam Katz, the organization’s newly minted president, told Jewish Insider.
Katz said a primary goal of the campaign — and the organization overall — is “to awaken people” to antisemitism, particularly to those outside of the Jewish community. While the foundation is not maintaining “antisemitism” in its name, it spotlights in its commercial the rate of antisemitic incidents that have spiked around the U.S. in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. That focus on violence against Jews is distinct from some of its previous, high-profile ads.
“[The name change] is meant to be inviting and bring people in and also not to feel off-putting to someone who is not part of the Jewish community but wants to participate — that’s who our target audience is, the 47% of Americans who are apathetic on the topic of antisemitism. They’re not doing anything of substance, either positive or negative. This is about reaching them,” Katz said.
“The purpose of it is to raise broader cultural awareness about the magnitude and severity of antisemitism. I wish every person in this country knew [about the shooting of Israeli Embassy staffers] in D.C. in May or knew about [the firebombing at a walk advocating for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas] in Boulder a few weeks later. Even more than that, I wish they knew about the smaller but much more frequent transgressions that take place every day.”
Most recently, the organization’s 30-second commercial titled “No Reason to Hate,” sparked criticism from some Jewish activists for not focusing on — or even mentioning — antisemitism when it ran during the Super Bowl earlier this year. The ad featured rapper Snoop Dogg and NFL legend Tom Brady exchanging deliberately vague insults.
“The challenge is that we just can’t explain the complexity of Judaism or antisemitism in a 30-second ad. But what we can do is invite Americans into a conversation about something they do have experience with: hate,” Kraft told JI at the time.
But Katz, who in May was tapped to lead the organization, said that the group is trying something different now to ensure that awareness of rising antisemitism is widespread, while still attempting to appeal to a wide audience. “It’s different from our other television work in that it’s a little bit more emotionally raw and jarring,” he said. “We need the wake-up call.”
“Our mission of ultimately creating allies against antisemitism has not changed,” Katz told JI. “That’s why it was so important with this campaign and future campaigns to make antisemitism as prominent as it should be.”
“We’re trying to bring people in with a low-barrier-to-entry activity. That’s what digitally sharing the blue square is. When there are no words, at a minimum, you can show your support with a blue square.”
Haley Cohen is a news reporter at eJewishPhilanthropy and Jewish Insider.
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