These highway billboards across South Florida target hate ‘by putting it in your face’

The messages calling out anti-Semitism are strong and direct.

“We’re just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn’t an overreaction.”

“Does your church need armed guards? ‘Cause our synagogue does.”

These messages will soon be popping up on billboards across South Florida as part of the New York-based nonprofit JewBelong’s #EndJewHate campaign.

The bright pink signs with the white lettering are meant to spark conversation. They have already appeared in Times Square in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Boston.

“There’s been a tsunami of Jewish hate,” said Archie Gottesman, co-founder of Jew Belong, which is focused on making Judaism less intimidating. “It’s insane. We need to spread awareness.”

The billboards — paid for with fundraising dollars — come as anti-Semitic incidents continue to make headlines in South Florida and beyond. Last weekend, there were Neo-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando. The week before, anti-Semitic fliers were found at homes in Surfside and Miami Beach.

On Jan. 15, Malik Faisal Akram, 44, entered Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, and took four people hostage. After a 10-hour standoff, the hostages escaped and Akram was fatally shot by FBI agents.

In October, the American Jewish Committee released its “State of anti-Semitism in America Report,” which included the results of asking American Jews and the U.S. general public about anti-Semitism in America. Of the more than 1,400 American Jews surveyed, nearly a quarter said they had been the target of anti-Semitism in the past 12 months.

And in the most recent Anti-Defamation League audit of anti-Semitic incidents — released in April and looking at 2020 incidents — Florida saw an increase of 40 percent in harassment and vandalism over 2019.

Billboards have long been used as a way to deliver a social message to the masses.

Gottesman said the advertising campaign is a way to get “a lot of eyeballs” on the messages and take a strong stance against hate.

“People need to see something between three and seven times before they comprehend it,” she said.

Coming to South Florida

A few months ago, Jon Warech, the director of Hillel at Florida International University, reached out to JewBelong as he helped plan the college’s Holocaust and Genocide Awareness week for Jan. 23-28.

“Anti-Semitism exists in our community and it’s our job to speak up all the time and be loud,” Warech said, adding that Hillel jumped at the chance of bringing the billboards to South Florida.

Lisa Lisser, executive vice president for JewBelong, said they were definitely hoping to expand to Miami.

“After Jon reached out, everything moved quickly,” she said.

Originally, the billboard — which would display FIU Hillel’s logo — was supposed to go up on the side of the Miami Children’s Museum just off the MacArthur Causeway. But Lisser said the museum, which can approve or deny the wording that goes on the digital billboard on its property, did not approve the language.

Woody Graber, a spokesman for the museum, said the organization was asked to tweak the language.

“They were given the opportunity to provide wording that is appropriate for young children,” he said.

Lisser called the decision “disappointing,” because as an education space they should “stand up against hate.”

Where they will be

While the children’s museum site fell through, a local donor, who wants to remain anonymous, donated $100,000 so that the billboards could still come to South Florida.

And now they will make a bigger splash. The billboards, which started going up this week, will be seen over the next six months in Miami-Dade and Broward.

The locations are:

▪ Interstate 395 and Biscayne Boulevard

▪ Interstate 95 at 72nd Street in Miami

▪ Interstate 95 at Taft street in Hollywood

▪ State Road 112 at the exit from Miami International Airport

FIU student Sofia Wagner, 20, said she is proud that Hillel is getting involved in the campaign against hate.

“I think a lot of what is going on is people are turning a blind eye to it,” said Wagner, who is the student president of Hillel. “This is addressing the situation by putting it in your face and not allowing you to ignore it.”