Robert Kraft and American rapper Meek Mill attend the 35th anniversary of International March of the Living” at the former Nazi-German Auschwitz Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on April 18, 2023. Photo: Beata Zawrzel/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), a nonprofit founded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to fight antisemitism across the US, has launched a billboard campaign on the Las Vegas Strip in response to an antisemitic incident that recently occurred in the area and prompted an FBI investigation.

“When Jewish hate shows up, we stand up,” says the billboard, which can be found near Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood, and MGM and is part of the foundation’s $25 million “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign for promoting awareness of rising antisemitism among the non-Jewish community.

In March, a 17-year-old autistic student, who wears a kippah and is nonverbal, returned home with a swastika scratched into his back and his service dog’s equipment bag torn to pieces. Because the school, which is administered by the Clark County School District, never installed surveillance cameras on its premises, there is little information about when and where the incident took place.

The incident took place just days before the Anti-Defamation League issued an annual audit reporting that in 2022 antisemitic incidents on K-12 campuses, of which there were 494, increased by 49 percent. Such incidents and hate crimes of all kinds have occurred in the US at record highs since 2021, a troubling trend that this year prompted Mr. Kraft, who founded FCAS in 2019, to put up $25 million for the “Stand Up to Jewish Hate Campaign,” which asks social media users to share the “Blue Square ?” emoji available on Apple’s iOS devices.

The campaign features a series of short films — “Tony,” “Son,” and “Isaiah” — portraying the kinds of antisemitic hate crimes that take place and how they affect Jewish families and children. They also demonstrate ways that non-Jewish neighbors and friends can become allies of the Jewish community.

“Voices of support are louder than words of hate,” FCAS executive director Matthew Berger told The Algemeiner in a statement on Monday, noting that Jewish Nevada and the Nevada office of the Anti-Defamation League are cosponsoring the billboards. “It is imperative that we bring our #StandUpToJewishHate campaign message to communities that are experiencing these horrific acts of antisemitism so we can ensure all Americans are educated on the injustices happening across the country and empower Jews and non-Jews to fight hate and tolerance together.”

FCAS traditionally focuses its resources on social media, aiming, it has said, “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,” but it has also extended its reach to higher education.

In March, it announced a multi-year partnership with Brandeis University, 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 training them to respond to crises caused by antisemitic incidents.

In announcing the initiative, Kraft said, “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.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.