Coming to a billboard near you: JewBelong’s first collaboration with Christian groups

Archie Gottesman believes that before you can solve a problem, everyone has to know about it.

“And most people don’t know about antisemitism,” she told eJewishPhilanthropy.

In 2017, Gottesman, an advertising veteran, co-founded JewBelong, the nonprofit known for its hot pink billboards featuring sometimes controversial slogans celebrating Judaism and countering antisemitism. The snarky slogans — including “Being woke and antisemitic is like being a vegan who eats veal,” “If we actually controlled the banks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be on the 100-dollar bill,” and “If you’re Jewish and your favorite bagel is blueberry with strawberry cream cheese, technically you’re not Jewish” — have become a staple on rural highways, college campus bus stops and even atop Times Square.

This summer, as antisemitism continues to skyrocket nationwide in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, JewBelong has announced its first collaboration with non-Jewish groups.

JewBelong’s campaign with the October 7th Coalition (O7C), a network of Christians who condemn the rise of antisemitism, and the Philos Project, a nonprofit that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement, developed as a result of concern from O7C founder, actress Patricia Heaton, two-time Emmy Award-winner for her role as Debra Barone in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.

“We’re excited to partner with JewBelong and be a part of uniting all Americans in the fight against antisemitism,” Heaton said in a statement. “This is a pivotal time in history and it’s more important than ever that Christians stand up for our Jewish neighbors and voice our concern over the divisive, hate-filled rhetoric and demonstrations that have infected our campuses, institutions and our democracy.”

The summer campaign will run across seven states including California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas and Florida, with the first 14 billboards going up this week. Some of the new slogans will include, “Jewish students deserve to be safe on campus”

and “You don’t have to be a Jew to protect Jews.”

Neither O7C nor the Philos Project has provided funding towards the JewBelong billboards, but the signs will bear the Christian organizations’ names.

“Not going it alone has been really refreshing and helpful,” Gottesman told eJP. “In the Jewish community there has been a feeling of disappointment that so many people who would have been our allies have been silent. It’s been really upsetting. Even if every Jewish person spoke out — and they are not — it wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket for the whole country to hear about antisemitism. Having allies is the only way to make this country have the conversations it should be having.”

“Christian groups have a different and broader reach so the message is amplified,” she added.

The partnership comes as Christian support for Israel has soared since Oct. 7. In March, the Associated Press reported that Christians United for Israel, the major Christian pro-Israel group in the U.S., raised and sent more than $3 million to Israeli first responders, health-care workers and survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack.

The overhead cost of JewBelong billboards range from $2,000 to more than $80,000 per month. Several have been defaced with antisemitic graffiti in recent months. While the organization has faced questions over whether that funding would be better put to use providing more tangible aid to Jewish communities, Gottesman said that billboards are the best way to counter the “news silo” and “echo chamber” that are promoting antisemitism.

The new partnership symbolizes a larger unity that is needed in the U.S., she said: “This country is so divided. I’m a historical Democrat and Patricia is a historical Republican, but the idea that two people who are different are working together against antisemitism is one of the points we are making.”