Behind the advertisement stands the Foundation for the Fight against Anti-Semitism, an organization founded about five years ago by Robert Kraft, an 82-year-old Jewish billionaire who is 177th on the list of the richest people in the world, with a value of 11.1 billion dollars.
In the Super Bowl final between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco ’49, which took place in Las Vegas, the commercial “Silence” was broadcast, starring Dr. Clarence Jones, Martin Luther King Jr.’s assistant (who helped draft the “I have a dream” speech ” the iconic). In the advertisement he says: “Sometimes I imagine what I would write today for my dear friend Martin. I would remind people that all hatred thrives on one thing: silence. The people who will change the nation are the ones who speak.” The choice of the Super Bowl was accurate: it is a particularly popular broadcast time, which draws enormous attention, which is difficult to achieve on a normal day for an advertisement against anti-Semitism and hatred. According to international reports, it is a cost of 7 million dollars for 30 seconds of advertising during the finals – the most expensive airtime on American television.
Behind the ad is the Foundation for the Fight against Anti-Semitism, an organization founded about five years ago by Robert Kraft, a Jewish billionaire and the owner of the NFL team New England Patriots.
According to the Forbes list, the 82-year-old Robert Kraft is in the 177th place on the list of the richest people in the world, with a value of 11.1 billion dollars. Born in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, his father wanted him to be a rabbi, and he was raised and educated as a Modern Orthodox. Kraft is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group. American-Jewish entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, whose portfolio of businesses and brands spans many industries, including paper and packaging, sports and entertainment, real estate and venture investments.
Kraft purchased the NFL team New England Patriots in 1994, for $172 million. The team is now worth about $6 billion and has won six Super Bowl rings, according to Forbes. He began his career as a newspaper vendor outside the old Braves Stadium in Boston, working for a wrapping paper company.
A video circulating on social media shows Kraft informing Jones that this ad would be coming to the Super Bowl, to which Jones responded: “You know how to make a 93-year-old man cry. Martin would have loved you.” In response, Kraft said: “I feel that his spirit and his soul are with us. And what we will do together after this ad, is to build bridges to accumulate love and eradicate the hatred that erupts. We will let people of all types, sexes and religions simply see the beautiful things in life.”
By the way, this is a continuation of the campaign against hatred of Jews that started in 2022, after several high-profile incidents and anti-Semitic comments by the rapper Kanye West.
In an interview with USA Today, Kraft expressed concern about the state of hatred directed especially towards Jews: “We are the largest country in the world, but it’s starting to look like Germany in the 1930s to me. And I want to prevent us from reaching the 1940s.”
During the interview, he even explained why he chose to finance the advertisement: “Most people in America, who are good people, I think they believe there is nothing they can do. But there is. What we need is for non-Jewish people to stand up to this hatred.”
Last year, the foundation produced a touching video of anti-Semitic incidents experienced by one in four Jews in the US. According to the Super Bowl, the network re-bounced the video, aired the ad in the pregame portion of the game, and even introduced another new ad.
