On the way to the airport, antisemitism is not on most travelers’ minds. But a new billboard wants to make them stop and think.
It says: “If you think turbulence is scary, try wearing a Jewish star.”
The pink placard with white letters on Interstate 595, near its intersection with Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale, went up on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and will remain in place through the end of January. It’s expected to be viewed by more than 4 million travelers, many going to or from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at the height of holiday visitor season.
Similar billboards have gone up near airports in Phoenix, Chicago and Atlanta, sponsored by JewBelong, a national nonprofit that works to share information about Judaism and antisemitism. The creative team behind the billboards wants to grab attention for JewBelong’s mission through provocative advertisements and placards.
“Only 2% of the United States is Jewish, and many who are not Jewish don’t know about antisemitism or that it’s a problem,” said Archie Gottesman, JewBelong’s cofounder. “We want to get conversations started outside of the Jewish echo chamber.”
Gottesman started JewBelong with a colleague, Stacy Stuart, in 2017. Gottesman had spent the previous 16 years as co-owner and chief branding officer of Manhattan Mini Storage, which was widely known in New York for its billboard and subway ads with snarky slogans, such as “Why leave a city that has six professional sports teams, and also the Mets?”
The two women have applied their advertising savvy to their campaign to motivate Jews to be proud of their heritage and fight antisemitism while encouraging non-Jews to join the struggle. The billboards have attracted lots of buzz across the country. Among the bold taglines:
- “We’re just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn’t an overreaction.”
- “Standing against antisemitism is standing with America.”
- “Dear colleges, American kids are afraid. Do your job!”
The campaign has included several Florida cities over the past two years, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
Billboards in some communities have not been warmly received. In Bergen County, New Jersey, shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, the group put up a sign that said: “Oh, don’t be naive. Hamas would chop your head off too.” Police said they received more than 100 complaint calls, and JewBelong took it down.
And three others in Louisville, Kentucky, were vandalized earlier this year. Two were torn down, and the other had “Free Palestine” written over it, according to The Courier-Journal newspaper.
Inside the Jewish community, JewBelong’s billboards and Instagram posts about the conflict are also controversial.
One post read: “Let’s be clear. Hamas is your problem too.” Another: “Trust me. If Israel wanted to commit genocide in Gaza, it could.”
Such pithy aphorisms may estrange the cohort JewBelong is trying to attract, journalist Emily Tamkin wrote in Slate magazine: “Is this meant to be a message representing an inclusive, welcoming Jewish community? Is it meant to welcome Jews back into the fold, so long as they agree with the billboard on Israel’s war? Do the people erecting these signs not expect them to alienate Jews who might otherwise feel like they do belong from feelings of Jewish solidarity? Do they not care?”
Gottesman said JewBelong wants to start conversations by making statements that are edgy and in-your-face. A key to its strategy is to get viewers to share photos on social media so the Jewish community feels supported and non-Jews become familiar with issues facing fellow Americans.
She said the campaigns will proceed despite the complaints, destruction and graffiti.
“Vandalism is vile and cowardly,” Gottesman said. “We refuse to be afraid.”