FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – JewBelong, a national nonprofit dedicated to combating antisemitism and promoting accessibility to Judaism, is placing a billboard along a major route leading to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, expected to reach an estimated 4.3 million holiday travelers.
The billboard features the message: “If you think turbulence is scary, try wearing a Jewish star.”
The billboard, will be displayed through the end of January. It will be located at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on I-595 and Ravenswood Rd.
“The Jewish community is only 2% of the entire country, so we need to work extra hard to break through to the wider American public,” JewBelong co-founder Archie Gottesman said. “Since so many people head to the airport during this season, what better way to get our message out there? It is outrageous that Jewish people are scared because of senseless, growing antisemitism. Good Americans know this.”
The billboard is part of a nationwide campaign, with additional billboards planned for prominent locations near Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
According to JewBelong, the Anti-Defamation League has reported more than 6,000 antisemitic incidents nationwide since December of last year. 2023 marked a record high for such incidents, with December alone accounting for 1,938 reported events.
Throughout the country, Hanukkah celebrations were overshadowed by acts of antisemitism, including an 11-foot-tall menorah being vandalized and thrown into a lake in Oakland, as well as individuals hiding their menorahs out of fear that their homes would become targets, according to JewBelong.
