Three billboards have been placed around the Gainesville area and the University of Florida to raise awareness about rising antisemitism on college campuses.  

The pink and white billboards were put up by JewBelong, a national nonprofit organization that fights antisemitism and makes Judaism accessible, in collaboration with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and Regent University, according to a JewBelong press release. The signs include proactive and thought-provoking messages that draw attention to the “persistent and dangerous presence of antisemitism on campuses nationwide.”  

“It’s a terrifying time to be a Jewish college student. Jewish students do not feel safe and are up against some of the worst antisemitism of our lifetime,” Archie Gottesman, co-founder of JewBelong, said in the release. “The Jewish community is only 2% of the entire country, so we need to work extra hard to break through to the wider American public.” 

In an interview with Mainstreet, Gottesman noted that UF is among 17 colleges with billboards set up close to campus. Other universities, she said, include Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Kansas, Brigham Young, Clemson, Florida State, Alabama, Mississippi, Illinois, Louisiana State, Penn State, Michigan, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Brown and Yale. 

All three of the billboards near UF are scheduled to be displayed for much of the fall semester, Aug. 18 to Nov. 10, according to the release. The slogans and locations of the billboards are seen below. 

• “Jewish existence shouldn’t need a PR campaign. But here we are.” (I-75 and Williston Road) 

• “Chocolate hummus on an onion bagel isn’t the hate crime we’re currently worried about.” (NW 6^th Street and 13^th Street) 

• “Standing against Antisemitism is standing with America.” (I-75) 

Mainstreet reached out to the Chabad UF Jewish Student Center for comment on the billboards.  

In an interview, Rabbi Berl Goldman, the center’s director, emphasized they are not associated in any way with JewBelong. He said Chabad was, however, familiar with the billboards. 

Goldman said the billboards are a “valid medium of expression” to bring awareness to antisemitism.  

“And more importantly, educating people of all types…that this is a serious matter…” he said.  

Goldman said the only way to fight antisemitism, hate and bigotry is “through education.” 

Florida college campuses have seen a sudden increase in antisemitic incidents, the release said. This includes the April 2024 protests at the University of South Florida, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators chanted “intifada” and “from the river to the sea,” resulting in arrests and tear gas, as well as the March 2025 federal investigations into both USF and the University of Tampa for alleged antisemitic harassment under Title VI.  

In August 2024, the State University System of Florida directed all public universities to audit course materials for antisemitic content after complaints about an FIU test that claimed, “Jews invented terrorism.”  

UF has seen its own share of antisemitic incidents in the past, which included vandalism at the Chabad UF Jewish Student Center and arrests at UF protests. The university has been vocal that it strongly and unequivocally condemns all acts of antisemitism.  

Gottesman said she hopes that in seeing the messages on the billboards, UF students, particularly those who are not Jewish, will “think twice when they hear antisemitism.” 

“Become aware and have maybe a conversation, even just to themselves, about like, ‘wow, this is something that’s happening in the country, and it wasn’t happening five years ago. And it’s bad, bad, bad for everybody,’” he said.  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.