Ari (Ballaban) Jun — In Conversation
The 🟦 Explained and How to be an Ally Against Antisemitism
There’s a good chance you’ve already seen this–🟦–symbol on TV, social media, or elsewhere in the past few days. Maybe you saw an ad like this. I even got a sponsored post about it on TikTok yesterday morning.
If you haven’t seen the 🟦 yet, here’s the short explanation: it is an emoji meant to represent solidarity with Jews against antisemitism, and it typically accompanies the hashtag #StandUpToJewishHate. The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is running this national campaign, and it hopes to make the blue square akin to something like 🏳️🌈–a well-known symbol that emphasizes allyship with the queer community.
In Cincinnati, we are joining the movement. For starters, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and the Jewish Community Relations Council have changed their Facebook/Instagram/Twitter photos to integrate the 🟦. We are also trying to get the word out more broadly in the city. Not only will you likely see these little blue squares, I’m hopeful you’ll also start to notice signage around Cincinnati that looks like the image above.
These are being produced by the JCRC and distributed by us, the AJC, and the Holocaust and Humanity Center, all with one clear purpose–to send a statement to Cincinnati that our city will not stand idly by while antisemitism exponentially increases. So, please, help us in our effort. Reach out to the JCRC to request a yard sign, sticker, or magnet of the “Ally Against Antisemitism” graphic. Alternatively, request a little blue pin. Most importantly, don’t just keep these to yourself. Give them to allies in Cincinnati. Because I want to be sure that people who engage in antisemitic activity realize that they are in the minority; that we Jews might be just 2% of the population, but our allies are numerous, diverse, and resolute in standing up to Jewish hate.
