Israeli sporting goods company Aviv Sports announced its participation in the Stop Jewish Hate campaign, run by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, on Sunday.
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism was founded in 2019 by New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft.
The national television campaign to mobilize all Americans, especially non-Jews, to combat antisemitism by using the blue square emoji as a unifying symbol of support started in March. The initiative, created through a $25 million investment by Kraft and his family, combines alarming data with humanizing storytelling representing everyday instances of antisemitism to encourage audiences to recognize Jewish hate in order to stand up against it.
Aviv, which manufactures basketball nets, donated its product to promote the blue square message. Along with Hapoel Jerusalem, Aviv’s founders David Warschawski and Tamir Goodman attended an event at the Pais Arena to hang the Aviv Nets and attach the Stop Jewish Hate logo.
Where else will you see the blue square?
Through the #StandUpToJewishHate campaign, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism established the Blue Square emoji already on all smartphones, as a simple, but powerful symbol of solidarity and support for the Jewish community. They have made their debut by taking up 2.4% of TV and digital screens, billboards and social feeds to call attention to the disturbing disparity between the Jewish population size and scale of hate the community faces, both online and in-person.
While high-profile events have started to make more people aware of antisemitism in the past year, many outside the Jewish community still are not aware of or recognize the scale of Jewish hate. According to a survey by Wunderman Thompson SONAR, over 52% of US adults 18+ do not believe “antisemitism is a big problem,” and 45% believe that Jewish people are more than capable of handling issues of antisemitism on their own.
“The #StandUpToJewishHate campaign is designed to raise awareness for the fight against antisemitism, specifically among non-Jewish audiences and to help all Americans understand that there is a role for each of us to play in combating a problem that is unfortunately all too prevalent in communities across the country today,” said Kraft. “We must stand up and take action against the rise of all hate and I hope everyone will post and share the Blue Square to show their support in this fight.”