Robert Kraft. Photo: New England Patriots/Wikimedia Commons

Brandeis University has partnered with Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), a nonprofit founded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, to fight rising antisemitism across the US.

On Thursday, the university announced the launch of the “Robert Kraft Family-Brandeis Collaboration on Antisemitism,” which will include a student fellowship program for undergraduates, conferences featuring leading experts on antisemitism, and collaborations with K-12 administrators. Additionally, Brandeis University’s Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program will expand to include “Kraft Scholars,” who will participate in new online degree and certificate programs that will train them to respond to crises caused by antisemitic incidents.

“The rise of antisemitism and hate targeting Jews across the country is a threat to the Jewish community’s survival and needs strong leadership to combat,” chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group, Robert Kraft, said on Thursday. “Through our Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, we are working to find innovative ways to educate and empower Jews and non-Jews to stand up to Jewish hate. Brandeis is the right partner for this important work, as its founding values are based in a commitment to create a better world.”

Brandeis University noted that antisemitic incidents in the US are occurring at record levels, averaging over seven incidents a day in 2021, according to statistics compiled by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The trend is playing out at K-12 schools and also on college campuses, where, ADL and Hillel International reported in a recent study, nearly a third of Jewish students have been victims of antisemitism.

Kraft, who led the remarkable transformation of the New England Patriots from a second tier club to an annual Super Bowl contender and winner of six such titles in under twenty years, founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019 after being awarded $1 million through Genesis Prize, an honor given to successful members of the Jewish community. FCAS focuses most of its resources on social media, aiming, it says, “to stand up against racist and violent rhetoric aimed at the Jewish people through the most accessible and most powerful avenue of information in the world.”

Most recently, FCAS produced a television commercial, which aired during NFL broadcasts in every major market, calling on Americans to “stand up to Jewish hate.”

Brandeis University president Ronald D. Liebowitz on Thursday expressed gratitude for FCAS and discussed the significance of Kraft-Brandeis Collaboration.

“The university has both an obligation and role to play in educating young people about the persistence of antisemitism and its impact on Jews and non-Jews alike,” he said. “This initiative will help the university to do its part through a comprehensive approach to educate students, convene leaders in higher and K-12 education, and train future Jewish communal professionals about the impact of this millennia-old scourge.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.