Blue Square Alliance Against Hate

Blue Square Alliance Against Hate
Formation2019
FounderRobert Kraft
Legal status501(c)(3) non-profit
Purposeanti-hate
HeadquartersGillette Stadium
Location
  • Foxborough, Massachusetts
President
Adam Katz
Websitebluesquarealliance.org
Formerly called
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism

The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), was created in 2019. It cites a "rising tide of Jewish hate and all hate in America" as its impetus.[1]

The nonprofit's mission is to inspire unengaged non-Jewish Americans "to become active allies in the fight against hate through a fact-based, non-confrontational, and actionable approach that addresses the root cause of Jewish hate and all hate at scale".[1][2]

Blue Square Alliance Against Hate is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.[3]

History

The organization was founded by Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots among other sports and non-sports holdings.

Kraft received Israel's Genesis Prize, which "honors living Jewish individuals who have attained international renown in their chosen professional fields, are proud of their Jewish heritage, care about the future of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and inspire young people to make the world a better place", on June 20, 2019.[4] During the ceremony, Kraft pledged $20 million to establish a foundation that would fight antisemitism and combat the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.[4][5]

In 2024, sport journalist Dave Zirin accused the foundation of being created by Kraft to conflate antisemitism with anti-zionism.[6]

In 2025 the Foundation renamed itself the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, and named Adam Katz as president.[7]

#StandUpToJewishHate

The organization has run online ad campaigns launched to coincide with major football events when viewership is guaranteed to be high. In 2023, along with Blue Square's partner agency VML, they won two Cannes Lions Awards for both media/media planning and PR/PR effectiveness. In 2024, they won an Adage award.[8] Blue Square has released ads at other times, however. "The strongest showed a boy and his father in a truck, with the dad confronting his son about a social media post where he said 'Hitler was right.'"[9]

Ad campaigns

October 2022 — FCAS sponsored its first high-profile ad, encouraging people to denounce hate against Jews. The ad, titled "Stand Up to Jewish Hate", aired during NFL football games.[1] This action came in response to antisemitic comments made by singer Kanye West and later basketball player Kyrie Irving.[10] Kraft invested $25 million in the #StandUptoJewishHate campaign, and the foundation's executive director indicated that the ads would air during the NFL draft, NBA and NHL playoffs as well as by social media influencers.[11][12]

January 2023 — FCAS launched its second major ad for its #StandUpToJewishHate campaign during the NFL New Year's Day Games.[1]

October 2024 — FCAS launched the #TimeoutAgainstHate campaign, bringing together sports figures from the NBA, NFL, WNBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, and NASCAR, including Shaquille O'Neal, Candace Parker, and Doc Rivers on YouTube, along with LaVar Arrington, on Facebook.[13]

February 2025 — For Super Bowl LIX, Blue Square ran an ad illustrating the stupidity of hate that ended with the message, "Stand Up to All Hate". Called "No Reason to Hate", the ad stars rapper Snoop Dogg and former football star Tom Brady.[14]

February 2026 — Blue Square Alliance paid $15 million to air a commercial during Super Bowl LX, called "Sticky Note", featuring a student being bullied at school for being Jewish.[15] The ad highlights the statistic, from an Anti-Defamation League survey, that 71% of Jewish teens, by 2024, had experienced antisemitism.[16]

Blue Squares

In 2023, the blue square campaign launched as a symbol of solidarity with victims of antisemitism.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Blue Square Alliance Against Hate - Mission and Milestones". BSA. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  2. ^ Colombo, Madison (2025-12-17). "Patriots owner Robert Kraft reveals he's given nearly $1B to charity over decades of philanthropic work". Fox News. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  3. ^ "BSA - About The Blue Square Alliance". BSA. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  4. ^ a b "Patriots owner Kraft pledges $20 million to battle anti-Semitism, BDS". The Times Of Israel. June 21, 2019. Archived from the original on February 25, 2024.
  5. ^ "Robert Kraft to Establish a Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, BDS, Delegitimization of Israel". New England Patriots. June 20, 2019.
  6. ^ Zirin, Dave (January 31, 2024). "In the Fight Against Antisemitism, Robert Kraft Is Part of the Problem". The Nation.
  7. ^ "Jewish Insider: Robert Kraft's anti-hate group renames itself the Blue Square Alliance Against Hat". Blue Square Alliance. Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
  8. ^ "#StandUpToJewishHate". VML. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  9. ^ Grisar, P. J. (2026-02-03). "Robert Kraft's new Super Bowl ad about antisemitism already feels dated". The Forward. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  10. ^ Lukpat, Alyssa (October 31, 2022). "Robert Kraft Sponsors 'Stand Up to Jewish Hate' Ad After a Surge in Anti-Semitism". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  11. ^ Dana Jacobson (27 March 2023). "Patriots owner Robert Kraft on antisemitism in America: "It shouldn't happen here"". CBS News. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  12. ^ Deepa Bharath (27 March 2023). "Here's what to know about Robert Kraft's 'Stand Up to Jewish Hate' campaign". Boston.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  13. ^ "American sports commissioners unite for new anti-hate campaign". NBC News. 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  14. ^ "Blue Square Alliance Against Hate Super Bowl Commercials". www.ispot.tv. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  15. ^ "Blue Square Alliance Puts The Focus Back on Antisemitism at Super Bowl 60". 2026-02-03. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  16. ^ Brown, Hannah (2026-02-05). "Patriots' Robert Kraft pays for Super Bowl antisemitism ad". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
  17. ^ Smilk, Carin M. (2026-02-04). "Blue Square Alliance previews Super Bowl ad combating Jew-hatred". JNS.org. Retrieved 2026-02-06.
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