Feb 12, 2025 07:41 PM
(This post was last modified: Feb 12, 2025 07:42 PM by C C.)
Super Bowl antisemitism ad is no way to tackle Jew-hatred
https://www.jns.org/super-bowl-antisemit...ew-hatred/
EXCERPTS: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is an exemplary member of the American Jewish community. [...] But for all of his various efforts on behalf of that important cause, probably none gained as much attention as the FCAS advertisement that appeared during the Super Bowl this past Sunday. It featured two mega-celebrities—rapper and actor Snoop Dogg, and NFL great Tom Brady ... In it, they spout various reasons why people hate each other before concluding that “things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it,” before the two walk off together in a gesture of amity.
That’s a colossal mistake, as well as a missed opportunity that Kraft and anyone else who cares about the issue should deeply regret. [...] Indeed, if that’s the best that the FCAS can manage, then Kraft would be well advised to close it up and transfer the money he’s currently wasting on it to those interested in fighting antisemitism in a way that will make a difference.
[...] Part of the problem was the employment of Snoop Dogg. While he may be famous ... he’s also a well-known antisemite. As the Americans for Peace and Tolerance group noted in its criticism of the ad, he is an avowed supporter of the antisemitic Nation of Islam group and its 91-year-old leader, Louis Farrakhan, who has done more than anyone to spread Jew-hatred among American blacks and Muslims. Using him in a spot sponsored by a group that cares about antisemitism wasn’t mere negligence but a betrayal of the values Kraft has always exemplified.
There was more that was wrong about it other than Snoop Dogg.
The underlying premise was a decision to try to universalize the problem rather than one that would specifically focus on the issue of antisemitism. That’s based on an assumption that talking about antisemitism and Jews is a turnoff to a broad audience like the one that tunes into the Super Bowl. The NFL championship game is the most watched television program every year—an event that has assumed the status of a secular holiday. This year’s show reportedly attracted an average audience of 126 million viewers throughout the contest with a peak of 135.7 million watching, with the halftime show featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar being a major draw.
With that in mind, the FCAS produced an ad that it supposed would appeal to the widest possible audience and therefore went all-in on universalizing the problem.
This is the same premise of most Holocaust education programs that have been employed in the United States in the past few decades. They are rooted in the belief that the only way anyone can be deterred from hating Jews is to depict the Holocaust and antisemitism as essentially no different than any other form of prejudice. In this way, as the FCAS ad seemed to be telling us, Jew-hatred is no different from disliking any group or people other than the majority. The solution, then, is for everyone to play nicely with each other the way Snoop and Brady—a black celebrity and a white one—appear willing to do.
But if history, as well as the present-day surge in Jew-hatred teaches, it is that antisemitism is not like other varieties of prejudice, be they major or minor. It is a specific virus of hate that targets Jews not merely as a function of bad behavior or a lack of awareness of our common humanity, but as a means of acquiring and holding onto political power.
To antisemites of every variety—be they left-wing, right-wing, Islamists, and yes, blacks—Jews aren’t merely the “other.” They are in the crosshairs to be despised and subjected to singular prejudice and discrimination, no matter their age, background, what they do or where they reside. They are, instead, an almost superhuman force for evil that must be eradicated. They alone are to be denied rights that even other discriminated minorities are given. And in so doing, various groups can wield power and pretend to be forces for good... (MORE - missing details)
Stand Up To All Hate: "Snoop Dogg & Tom Brady" Superbowl ad ... https://youtu.be/x784X5SVLek
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/x784X5SVLek
Snoop Dogg faces backlash over Super Bowl commercial with Tom Brady ... https://youtu.be/PJ6HI-Qc304
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/PJ6HI-Qc304
https://www.jns.org/super-bowl-antisemit...ew-hatred/
EXCERPTS: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is an exemplary member of the American Jewish community. [...] But for all of his various efforts on behalf of that important cause, probably none gained as much attention as the FCAS advertisement that appeared during the Super Bowl this past Sunday. It featured two mega-celebrities—rapper and actor Snoop Dogg, and NFL great Tom Brady ... In it, they spout various reasons why people hate each other before concluding that “things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it,” before the two walk off together in a gesture of amity.
That’s a colossal mistake, as well as a missed opportunity that Kraft and anyone else who cares about the issue should deeply regret. [...] Indeed, if that’s the best that the FCAS can manage, then Kraft would be well advised to close it up and transfer the money he’s currently wasting on it to those interested in fighting antisemitism in a way that will make a difference.
[...] Part of the problem was the employment of Snoop Dogg. While he may be famous ... he’s also a well-known antisemite. As the Americans for Peace and Tolerance group noted in its criticism of the ad, he is an avowed supporter of the antisemitic Nation of Islam group and its 91-year-old leader, Louis Farrakhan, who has done more than anyone to spread Jew-hatred among American blacks and Muslims. Using him in a spot sponsored by a group that cares about antisemitism wasn’t mere negligence but a betrayal of the values Kraft has always exemplified.
There was more that was wrong about it other than Snoop Dogg.
The underlying premise was a decision to try to universalize the problem rather than one that would specifically focus on the issue of antisemitism. That’s based on an assumption that talking about antisemitism and Jews is a turnoff to a broad audience like the one that tunes into the Super Bowl. The NFL championship game is the most watched television program every year—an event that has assumed the status of a secular holiday. This year’s show reportedly attracted an average audience of 126 million viewers throughout the contest with a peak of 135.7 million watching, with the halftime show featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar being a major draw.
With that in mind, the FCAS produced an ad that it supposed would appeal to the widest possible audience and therefore went all-in on universalizing the problem.
This is the same premise of most Holocaust education programs that have been employed in the United States in the past few decades. They are rooted in the belief that the only way anyone can be deterred from hating Jews is to depict the Holocaust and antisemitism as essentially no different than any other form of prejudice. In this way, as the FCAS ad seemed to be telling us, Jew-hatred is no different from disliking any group or people other than the majority. The solution, then, is for everyone to play nicely with each other the way Snoop and Brady—a black celebrity and a white one—appear willing to do.
But if history, as well as the present-day surge in Jew-hatred teaches, it is that antisemitism is not like other varieties of prejudice, be they major or minor. It is a specific virus of hate that targets Jews not merely as a function of bad behavior or a lack of awareness of our common humanity, but as a means of acquiring and holding onto political power.
To antisemites of every variety—be they left-wing, right-wing, Islamists, and yes, blacks—Jews aren’t merely the “other.” They are in the crosshairs to be despised and subjected to singular prejudice and discrimination, no matter their age, background, what they do or where they reside. They are, instead, an almost superhuman force for evil that must be eradicated. They alone are to be denied rights that even other discriminated minorities are given. And in so doing, various groups can wield power and pretend to be forces for good... (MORE - missing details)
Stand Up To All Hate: "Snoop Dogg & Tom Brady" Superbowl ad ... https://youtu.be/x784X5SVLek
Snoop Dogg faces backlash over Super Bowl commercial with Tom Brady ... https://youtu.be/PJ6HI-Qc304