Sports events are intended to be a place where politics can be set aside, and where shared values, grit and teamwork take center stage. Events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics are designed to bring diverse audiences together around competition, not conflict. However, the cheers and the boos over the past several decades have eroded the healthy competition, friendship and love of the game that had been hallmarks decades before.
This year, Super Bowl LX made antisemitism a topic of national attention following the airing of a commercial during the game. The ad was funded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. It attempts to address rising antisemitism through a simple message. The clip shows a Jewish teen with a hateful, anti-Jewish slur taped to his backpack, unnoticed by him but visible to everyone else. The ad also highlighted a deep, long-standing allyship between the Jewish and black communities, and urged viewers to intervene whenever they see hate.
The $15 million campaign was designed to introduce antisemitism to an immense, mainstream audience during the most‑watched sports event in the United States. The Patriots happened to be playing in this year’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Following the broadcast, the campaign received mixed reactions from Jewish communities, media commentators and advocacy groups. For some viewers, the commercial served as a first exposure to the idea that antisemitism is rising. Some praised the visibility of the message. Others questioned whether the depiction reflected current experiences of antisemitism, particularly among younger Jews who felt the message was disconnected from their daily reality. Jewish teens and educators said the ad didn’t reflect the kinds of hostility they routinely face, including being shouted at, blamed for global events or targeted online just for being Jews or for their support of Israel.
Critics argued that hatred against Jews today is hardly subtle; it is loud and combative. Jews are often confronted directly with slurs, accusations of genocide or blatant threats of violence. For these audiences, the portrayal of a hidden insult in the commercial understated the scale of the problem. Others defended the campaign, noting that broad messaging can help open conversations in spaces where antisemitism has long been ignored.
The ADL’s Center for Antisemitism Research independently tested the ad with some audiences and found that after viewing the Blue Square ad, the likelihood that people think antisemitism is a serious problem goes up 8 percentage points. The survey reflected a higher likelihood that they’ll interrupt friends or family who make antisemitic comments, and they agree that their local public schools should host antisemitism awareness education.
The American Jewish Committee has published its annual “State of Antisemitism in America” report, offering vital insight into what has been one of the most violent and challenging years for American Jews in recent memory. Some of the most disturbing statistics include:
- Roughly nine in 10 American Jews (91%) say they feel less safe as a Jewish person in theUnited States because of major attacks on American Jews in the past 12 months, including the burning during Passover of a Jewish Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official home in Harrisburg; the firebombing of peaceful Jewish rally-goers in Boulder, Colo.; and the shooting murders of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
- More than half of American Jews (55%) report changing their behavior in the past year because they fear antisemitism.
- 17% of American Jews report that they have considered leaving the United States to move to another country due to antisemitism in the past five years.
- 86% of American Jews say antisemitism has increased in the United States since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
Two versions of the ad were produced, but only the shorter one was aired during the game, according to Adam Katz, president of Blue Square Alliance Against Hate. A 60-second version featured an alternate ending where the Jewish student seeks to confront the haters, but his friend advises him not to because “they’re not worth it.” That version is available online and is being shared across social media.
The Israeli experience: From fair play to fear at the Olympics
Around the world, at another sports forum—the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics—Israel’s delegation faced hostility during two of the three opening ceremonies, with members of the team being met with boos as they entered the stadium. Leading up to the games, pro-Palestinian groups joined anti-Olympics protests, shouting slurs and echoing Hamas propaganda while calling for Israel to be excluded from Olympic competition altogether.
Despite the hostilities towards the Israeli Olympians, they have held their heads high and are proudly representing the Jewish state. Skeleton Olympian Jared Firestone carried the Israeli flag in the opening ceremonies while wearing a kippah that bore the names of the 11 Israeli Jewish athletes and coaches who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
The concern expressed by Jewish communities is not only about a commercial or a single Olympic Games. It is about a broader pattern: that antisemitism is recognized in theory but minimized in practice.
Points to consider:
- Allyship is essential. No community should stand alone.
The Blue Square Alliance Super Bowl commercial underscored that antisemitism does not exist in isolation. Jewish communities are not the only minority to experience demonization, exclusion or collective blame. Building authentic alliances with other communities that understand what it means to be targeted for identity is essential. Solidarity strengthens resilience, expands moral clarity and reinforces the principle that hate against one group threatens the fabric of society as a whole and the values that hold humanity together.
- Visibility without accountability: Antisemitism in sports draws no action from leaders who know better.
Despite public hostility, political protests and reported security concerns surrounding Israeli athletes, the international Olympic leadership issued no significant response. For many Jews, the contrast was telling: hatred was acknowledged during a high-profile Super Bowl broadcast in the United States, yet real-world hostility toward Israelis on the global stage drew limited reactions. It underscores a broader pattern; antisemitism is becoming normalized, but responses remain inconsistent, particularly when incidents move from rhetoric to reality.
- From Munich to Milan, politics turns Jewish athletes into targets.
The Olympics’ aspiration was framed as apolitical, yet Jewish and Israeli athletes have repeatedly faced political hostility at the Games—most vividly, in 1972, when 11 Israelis were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Munich in West Germany. The Games were paused briefly and resumed shortly afterward. It was a decision that became a lasting reference point for how quickly the international community moved on and its ability to ignore the atrocity. For many Jews, Munich established a pattern that still shapes public behavior.
- Today’s anti-Jewish hate is shapeshifting, but not shrinking.
In the decades since the Munich Olympics massacre, protests, boycotts and attacks targeting Israeli athletes are frequently treated as inevitable byproducts of political conflict rather than safety concerns or anti-Jewish discrimination. This reflects a broader shift in modern antisemitism, which increasingly operates not through quiet exclusion but through open accusation and demonization. What surfaces at international sporting events mirrors a wider cultural trend: hostility is being reframed as activism and prejudice is being reframed as politics.
- There is no single response to antisemitism, but inaction is not one of them.
The Blue Alliance’s Super Bowl ad spotlighted one expression of antisemitism, but hatred of Jews takes many forms—and so do the responses to combat it. Some respond with visible Jewish pride and a refusal to hide. Others act through legal action, enforcing education codes, strengthening security, advancing policy or expanding education. There is no single strategy that fits every moment. What matters is rejecting passivity. A victim mentality does not protect Jewish communities; thoughtful engagement, in all its forms, does.
