JewBelong

JewBelong is a nonprofit organization that is known for its billboards featuring slogans celebrating Judaism and countering antisemitism. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). It is registered since 2017 in Montclair, New Jersey.

History
JewBelong was founded in 2013 by Archie Gottesman and Stacy Stuart, two Jewish marketing professionals who'd previously led Manhattan Mini Storage's viral billboard marketing.

JewBelong was founded with the stated mission of welcoming "disengaged Jews" back into Jewish religious and cultural life.

Their website, which also hosts a variety of free resources for Jewish holidays, culture and customs, was their primary function until late 2019 and early 2020.

Antisemitism awareness campaigns
Beginning in late 2019 and early 2020, JewBelong expanded its programs to include antisemitism awareness campaigns, citing a rise in antisemitic events like the chants of "Jews will not replace us" at the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and the shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue and at a Jersey City kosher grocery store in October 2018 and December 2019, respectively.

One of JewBelong's early antisemitism-related campaigns was a digital display in Times Square, New York. JewBelong's messages included, "We're just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out antisemitism isn't an overreaction. #stopantisemitism" and "3,500 years of antisemitism doesn't make it right."

Controversies
JewBelong has gained some notoriety for its "edgy" advertisements, particularly billboards.

JewBelong posted the following on Instagram: "Trust Me. If Israel Wanted to Commit Genocide in Gaza, It Could." Slate Emily Tamkin's called the post "menacing." JewBelong ultimately deleted the post the same day.

In 2023, JewBelong funded billboard ads that said, "You don't have to go to law school to know that anti-Zionism is antisemitism." In Berkeley, California, the billboards were subsequently vandalized with the phrases, "Jews4FreePalestine" and "Free Palestine". An anonymous anti-Zionist group claimed credit for vandalizing the billboard with anti-Israel graffiti. The Berkeley Police Department investigated the incident as a hate crime.