The anti-antisemitism ads, produced by Robert Kraft's new non profit dedicated to fighting all manner of hate (see the ones shown on Sunday below, along with Kraft's full conversation with activist Clarence B Jones), call on all Americans, especially non-Jews, to "stand up to Jewish hate."
I can understand why a complicated term like antisemitism may not be suitable for millions of Super Bowl viewers not tuned in to these things on a daily basis, but there is something about the expression "Jewish hate" that concerns me. It doesn't make crystal clear that in this scenario, Jews are the not the haters but the hated.
One other element of these commercials bothers me. In the two that I saw, the "heroes" are not Jews, but allies who defend Jews, presumably at some risk to themselves. In one ad, a kindhearted neighbor whitewashes a swastika that had been painted on the garage of the Jews next door, just before a Jewish mom and her young daughter turn into the driveway. The mom mouths a "thank you" to the neighbor when she sees white paint spattered on his shoes.
I know that Blacks have often been offended by the "white savior" motif popular in movies like 'The Blind Side" and TV shows like "Different Strokes." Is what we are seeing in these commercials just a Jewy version of the same thing? Or, worse, is it just an extension of the "He gets us" ads, where the good Christian, acting like Jesus, shows love even to the poor, despised Jews next door. And by showing love even to Jews, it is another example of how He gets us all.
When you think about it, the Christian ads that ran in the Big Game were all about love, and the Jewish ones all about hate. In the marketplace of religious ideas that America has become, you don't want your message to be, "We're the people everyone hates - so please stop everyone from being so cruel to us!" That's not the branding we should be looking for on the biggest advertising day of the year.
But the Jewish hate ads have a more subtle message meant specifically for Jews. a simple acknowledgement that we can't fight this disease of Jewish hate all by ourselves. We need to cultivate allies, and to thank them. We do here, and so, by the way, does Israel. The old Zionist obsession with self sufficiency simply does not suffice in our vastly interwoven world, where the alliances are infinitely more complex - and necessary - than they used to be. We can be "a free nation in our land," as it says in Hatikva, but we can't do it alone. In fact, we never could.
These days, we often don't know who are friends are, but we do know that we need them. And we need to recognize that we need them.
And that in itself is a positive message, one that does compete well in the marketplace of religions. Yes, Jesus may get us, but Jews get how to build partnerships and alliances in forging a world of justice and peace. Jesus may wash lots of feet, but Jews, perennially kicked in the shin by some of those well-washed feet, wear out our shoes by joining their neighbors on long walks to freedom. Jesus may get what love is, but we get what hate is, and have first hand experience at transforming it into love.
And that itself is quite a...feat! | 
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