“If you think turbulence is scary, try wearing a Jewish star," reads a new hot-pink billboard on Lincoln Street at East Tenth Avenue. Erected on Tuesday, December 10, the sign is intended to catch the eye of holiday travelers heading to and from the Denver International Airport via Interstate 70, according to organizers.
It's part of a national campaign by JewBelong, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism. Similar billboards will be posted near the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“As we head into the holiday season, we want to make sure that conversations and awareness around anti-Semitism as a critical issue does not fall to the wayside,” says Archie Gottesman, co-founder of JewBelong. “Jewish people should be able to celebrate without fear."
Reported anti-Semitic incidents in Colorado reached their highest point in more than four decades last year, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released in April. Reports increased by 199 percent throughout the state, outpacing a nationwide spike.
So far this year, there have been 164 anti-Semitic incidents reported in Colorado, including 71 in Denver — down from 198 and 78 in 2023, but up from 71 and 26 in 2022, according to the ADL's map tracking such incidents. Recent reports in Denver include swastikas being spray-painted outside of a community recreation center in November and carved into the walls of a Jewish medical facility in September.
"It’s egregious that anti-Semitism is still an issue in 2024," Gottesman says. "Denver International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, making Denver an ideal fit for this campaign."
But not all of Denver's Jewish community is on board with the new sign.
The national spike in anti-Semitism has been connected to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some pro-Palestine groups say messages supporting Palestinians or criticizing Israel are being unfairly misinterpreted as anti-Semitic. For example, the ADL's map of anti-Semitic incidents includes occurrences where "Free Palestine" was spray-painted on an underpass and chanted at a protest.
“As Jews, we reject the politics of fear that pit Jews and Arabs against each other — which is why we are deeply concerned by the logic presented by the billboard en route to DIA," says the Denver/Boulder chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, a pro-Palestine, anti-Zionism group. "[It] implies anti-Jewish prejudice is behind any criticism of the state of Israel and its cruelty toward the Palestinian people."
Protests regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have consumed Colorado over the past year, including a weeks-long anti-war encampment at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, or the pro-Palestine protests held outside the homes of two University of Colorado regents, one of whom is Jewish. Critics say such demonstrations featured offensive anti-Jewish statements and the intimidation of Jewish individuals.
"All of this creates a hostile environment that makes Jews unsafe," says Stefanie Clarke, co-founder of Stop Antisemitism Colorado. "Here in Colorado, we’ve experienced more than our share of disturbing incidents that reflect the nationwide rise in anti-Semitism. Hateful rhetoric and acts of vandalism toward the Jewish community have not subsided; if anything, they’ve become more frequent and more brazen."
Anti-Israel signs seen posted throughout a library at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Stop Antisemitism Colorado
"How could any Jewish student possibly feel comfortable studying for finals in this setting?" Clarke asks.
Jewish Voice for Peace argues that anti-Israel sentiments should not be lumped together with anti-Semitism, noting that "as long as the state of Israel has existed, there has been Jewish opposition to it."
"Many Jewish researchers of anti-Semitism have noted that conflating the controversial policies of the 76-year-old Israeli government with the millennia-old Jewish culture produces spikes in anti-Semitism," Jewish Voice for Peace says. "They have noted that this reasoning obscures the real and most persistent sources of domestic anti-Semitism, while downplaying rising and disproportionate violence against Palestinians."
Asked about JewBelong's new Denver billboard, the Colorado Palestine Coalition emphasized its multi-faith community, including Jewish members, who work to "raise awareness of the many injustices committed by the state of Israel, which includes a genocide against the people of Gaza."
"We at the Colorado Palestine Coalition only have one thing to say about anti-Semitism: We oppose it as we oppose all forms of racism, xenophobia and oppression — including Zionism," the coalition says.
The billboard will remain up through the end of January. Clarke of Stop Antisemitism Colorado is glad for it.
"Awareness is the first step, and we are grateful for organizations like JewBelong," Clarke says. "If Colorado is to truly be the inclusive, tolerant state we claim to be, now is the time for everyone — leaders, allies, friends and neighbors — to take a stand and ensure anti-Semitism has no place in our state."
