Latest news with #FoundationtoCombatAntisemitism
Axios
a day ago
- Politics
- Axios
Kraft-funded group works to boost engagement in antisemitism fight
As antisemitic incidents escalate nationwide, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), the nonprofit founded by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, is trying to reach Americans unaware of how bad the problem really is. Why it matters: Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. jumped almost 900% in 10 years, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Kraft's group brought Wayfair and Boston Consulting Group veteran Adam Katz on as its new president to head up the mission to educate Americans about the pervasiveness of antisemitism. Zoom in: Katz wants to focus on unengaged Americans, whom the group classifies as people aware and active against most forms of cultural hate and discrimination but not as aware of Jewish persecution. The group's programs work on early intervention to prevent antisemitism from becoming normalized. What they're saying:"Jewish hate is effectively a gateway hate," Katz told Axios. "You see throughout history in the world and in this country, where Jewish hate starts quickly, hate against other groups follows." By the numbers: 45% of Americans remain "unaware" of rising antisemitism, according to FCAS research. Jews constitute 2% of the U.S. population but suffer nearly 70% of faith-based hate crimes, they say. "They don't see Jewish hate as a significant problem. They don't see it as a relevant problem. In many cases, they think it's something that Jews can just solve themselves," Katz said. The group cites recent incidents like swastika graffiti at Brookline's Park School and harassment on college campuses.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why a Super Bowl commercial about hate got some hate of its own
This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night. The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism returned to the Super Bowl spotlight on Sunday with its second commercial in two years. The new ad stars legendary quarterback Tom Brady and musical artist Snoop Dogg and aims to convince viewers to stand up to hate. Brady and Snoop are shown staring angrily at one another as they list the kinds of beliefs that can fuel discrimination and violence. 'I hate you because we're from different neighborhoods ... because you look different ... because I don't understand you ... because people I know hate you ... because I need someone to blame,' they say. Then, the Super Bowl commercial's core message pops up on the screen: 'The reasons for hate are as stupid as they sound.' Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, said he hopes the unique pairing of Brady and Snoop catches viewers' attention. 'Their shared commitment to this cause speaks to the strength of and amplifies the foundation's continued message: no matter where we come from, there is no place for hate in our world,' Kraft said in a statement, per Ad Week. While that message shouldn't be controversial, the commercial was. Many viewers took to social media to complain about its stars and its content. Some felt it was 'woke,' while others said it was too tied up in President Donald Trump's politics. Some thought it was cringey, and some said Brady, Kraft and Snoop weren't the right people to call for peace. Some questioned why the commercial talked about the broad problem of hate instead of focusing on the particular issue of antisemitism. To be clear, some viewers did like the ad. The New York Times had it at No. 6 on its list of top Super Bowl commercials. 'Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady trade insults for 15 seconds, spitting out generic reasons for hating each other. Their celebrity is a distraction from the message about tolerance, but when Snoop, now himself, says, 'I hate that things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it,' it still hits home,' The New York Times reported. The mixed reaction was a reminder that no commercial is safe from pushback. I'm curious to see if the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism returns to the big game next year. Athletes often praise God after a big win. Most sports fans like it The federal government just switched sides in a major Supreme Court case. Here's what that means Trump's mantra at Thursday's prayer breakfasts? Make America religious again Political extremists vandalized a church. Now, the church controls their name Trump again suggested buying TikTok — and that's not the only reason a new executive order raised questions A bishop went viral for asking Trump to 'have mercy.' Here's how she's feeling about the divided response Metta — not to be confused with Meta, Facebook's parent company — means loving-kindness. It refers to a love without limits and without expectations. 'Metta is a kind of love that is offered without any expectation of return. It is not reciprocal or conditional. It does not discriminate between us and them, or worthy and unworthy,' The Conversation reports. The article noted that many Buddhists champion the concept of Metta and practice Metta meditations in order to cultivate it in themselves. 'Clinical research shows that loving-kindness meditation has a positive effect on mental health. It could help lessen anxiety and depression, increase life satisfaction and improve self-acceptance; it could also reduce self-criticism,' per The Conversation. Happy Valentine's week. To prepare for all the flowers and hearts, I read The Conversation's decidedly unromantic tale of how the holiday as we know it came to be. I haven't read Ross Douthat's new book yet, but I have read several articles about his effort to convince religious 'nones' to go to church. As Religion News Service put it, 'his target audience isn't hard-core nonbelievers. Instead, he hopes to give folks who are interested in religion — whether the goal is spiritual or social — a reason to give faith a try." Did any of my Utah-based readers catch the reference to Utah's Salt Flats in Ritz's Super Bowl commercial? I wrote a short story about the salty ad. The latest Flashback history quiz from The New York Times kind of blew my mind because it included a few events from more than 1 million years ago.
USA Today
09-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
I starred in a Super Bowl ad on Black, Jewish partnership. But Israel divided us.
I starred in a Super Bowl ad on Black, Jewish partnership. But Israel divided us. | Opinion Blacks are not being asked; they're being challenged to a loyalty oath of action – you support Israel's fight against Hamas or, de facto, you don't support our domestic Jewish struggles. Show Caption Hide Caption Ad Meter 2024: Foundation to Combat Antisemitism Watch this Super Bowl ad from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Be sure to vote for your favorite Super Bowl ad with Ad Meter! Go to One year ago, I starred in a Super Bowl commercial. The spot was produced by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, which strives to curb antisemitism and hate speech. They came to me because of my work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (I spent the '60s as his adviser, lawyer and draft speechwriter.) The ad traded on the idea of a shared history of support between persecuted African Americans and persecuted Jews. Today, I fear that the Black-Jewish coalition celebrated in my ad is virtually nonexistent. Criticizing Israel is not equivalent to promoting antisemitism In my estimation, the armed assault by Hamas on Israel's music festival and its surrounding Jewish communities on Oct. 7, 2023, marked not only the start of the Gaza war but also the beginning of the end of the Black-Jewish civil rights coalition in the United States. The coalition, a 65-year working relationship between the Black and Jewish communities, had developed during the American Civil Rights Movement, motivated by their common struggle for equal treatment and an end to racial or religious discrimination. Opinion: I helped write MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech. Its message remains essential. During my years as a participant, architect and promoter of this partnership, it never appeared to me that either party embraced any third party outside of the coalition. But appearances can be deceiving. I didn't clock that third party: the state of Israel. This is likely because there was no single event that acted as any kind of wedge issue to spotlight this. Israel hovered over our coalition like a ghost. But after the Hamas attack, Israel cast a shadow over the coalition that made it solidly visible. The armed assault was the equivalent of a dagger plunged into the heart of the American Black-Jewish coalition. Because now we're being challenged to what effectively has become a 'loyalty oath' to the state of Israel. Decades of 24/7 African American support wasn't sufficient to many Jewish organizations and leaders. Now, to be authentic if you were a Black leader, your support in the Black-Jewish coalition is only 'acceptable' if you also support the actions of Israel, right or wrong. Criticism of Israel the state is tantamount to promoting antisemitism. This is a false equivalency at best. I would suggest that loyalty to country and preservation and protection of a religion are apples and oranges. US Black community is being challenged with an ultimatum Blacks are not being asked; they're being challenged to a loyalty oath of action – you support Israel's fight against Hamas or, de facto, you don't support our domestic Jewish struggle against antisemitism. The U.S. Black community is offered an ultimatum by the political leadership of the Jewish community. Regrettably, they seem to be saying to us, 'We no longer are prepared to fight racism in America without your public support for the state of Israel against his war with Hamas.' Opinion: I'm Jewish. I can't stay silent on Trump's plan for the US to own Gaza. The context of my Super Bowl ad against hate was limited to the domestic fight against antisemitism across the board in all communities in the United States. It did not suggest that if you were Black you had to commit yourself to Israel's struggle against Hamas (though one could argue perhaps the subtext was something different). Yet as subsequently relevant as the struggle in Gaza is, a blanket commitment to that struggle by African Americans is beyond the scope of the domestic civil rights coalition that had developed between the Black and Jewish communities. As readers of my memoir "Last of the Lions" will know, I've never pledged loyalty to any government. When I was drafted during the Korean War, I was court-martialed for refusing to sign a loyalty oath to the United States. Now, seven decades later, I don't intend to abide by what is effectively the same idea imposed by the Jewish community on the Black community regarding a country for which none of us even claim citizenship. My hope is that we begin to reconsider and untangle the issues between a sacred way of life ‒ Judaism ‒ and a geopolitical situation, tied to very earthly things indeed, before the very deep bonds of these two groups of persecuted Americans permanently shears apart. Clarence B. Jones was personal attorney, adviser and speech writer for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and credited as a co-author of King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. He is chairman of the board of the Spill the Honey Foundation and co-founder of the Clarence B. Jones Institute for Social Advocacy. His new memoir, written with Stuart Connelly, is "Last of The Lions."
