Pink billboards take aim at antisemitism

Bright pink billboards denouncing antisemitism and hatred are up in three locations across San Antonio.

Jewbelong, a New Jersey-based nonprofit dedicated to education and community building, has posted billboards at three of the busiest intersections in the city: 281 and Josephine, 410 and Wurzbach, and Highway 90 at West Military Drive. So far, at least six cities have received billboards, but San Antonio is the first with a sign in Spanish.

“It’s not like San Antonio is the worst place in the country, but it is a place where there is activity that is not conducive to peace and allowing people to live side by side and be who they are,” Jewbelong Co-founder Archie Gottesman said.

The billboards are part of a national campaign aimed at spreading awareness of the increase in antisemitism in the U.S., Gottesman said. Billboards previously were posted in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Florida. Messages have included things like “I promise to love being Jewish 10x more than anyone hates me for it,” “3,500 years of antisemitism doesn’t make it right” and “We’re just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn’t an overreaction.”

The Spanish-language billboard in San Antonio shares the message “We’re just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn’t an overreaction,” in addition to an English-language version. An additional sign is up in San Antonio that reads “can a billboard end antisemitism? No. But you’re not a billboard.”

The billboards will be up only for the next three weeks unless the nonprofit raises the necessary funds to keep them up longer.