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Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism to run 30-second Super Bowl ad
(JTA) — As reports of antisemitism have surged since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish groups have sought to spotlight the issue through rallies, news coverage, billboards and social media campaigns.
Next month, it will receive airtime during the year’s most-watched television broadcast: Super Bowl LVIII.
On Wednesday, Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism announced that it purchased a 30-second spot due to air during the big game on Feb. 11. It appears to be the first time ever that a Super Bowl ad will focus on antisemitism.
“With the horrific rise in Jewish hate and all hate across our nation, we must stand up and take urgent action now,” Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, said in a statement. “For the first time, FCAS will air an emotive ad during the Super Bowl, football’s ultimate championship game which brings people of all backgrounds together, to showcase examples of how people can #StandUptoJewishHate and inspire more people to join the fight against all hate.”
Wednesday’s announcement noted the recent spike in antisemitism reported by groups ranging from the Anti-Defamation League to the NYPD. The spot is part of the foundation’s “#StandUpToJewishHate” media campaign, which launched last year.
Kraft, who has donated heavily to Jewish and Israeli causes, founded the group after he won the 2019 Genesis Prize, the $1 million award sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Nobel.” The foundation has become known for promoting the now-ubiquitous blue square emoji, which is meant to symbolize the small size of the American Jewish population. The blue square, which Kraft wears as a pin during public appearances, has been spread across social media and has appeared in TV ads.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after the foundation received a large infusion of funds. Kraft gave $100 million to the foundation in December — matching another $100 million pledged by the Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation.
According to the industry publication Ad Age, a 30-second commercial during this year’s game costs about $7 million. Last year, the Super Bowl was viewed by an estimated 115 million viewers, and Super Bowl commercials often become cultural touchstones and fodder for conversation in the weeks following the game.
In 2022, prior to the launch of the blue square initiative last year, Kraft’s foundation ran an ad during a regular season game between the Patriots and the New York Jets urging viewers to stand up to antisemitism. And last year’s Super Bowl featured another high-profile ad campaign focused on religion: “He Gets Us,” a series of spots about Jesus by the Servant Foundation, a Christian group.
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The post Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism to run 30-second Super Bowl ad appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.