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(RNS) — From the intersection of Pico and Hauser boulevards in Los Angeles to the Venice and Lincoln crossing close to the seashore, drivers throughout the town are being greeted with billboards that includes affirmations related to Jewish texts and teachings.
“Somewhat bit of sunshine dispels quite a lot of darkness.”
“Be sluggish to anger and abounding in kindness.”
“Solely a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
The billboards — sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Larger Los Angeles and in partnership with Outfront Media — can be up for a number of months with no present finish date. Indicators have been positioned in late December to coincide with Hanukkah. There are about 10 billboards throughout the town.
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Rabbi Noah Farkas, president of the Jewish Federation of Larger Los Angeles, stated the billboards are “meant to introduce ourselves to the bigger group,” at a time when circumstances of antisemitism are on the rise across the nation and as L.A. has confronted a wave of public antisemitic incidents.
Final fall, President Joe Biden’s administration was amongst those that condemned a gaggle of L.A. demonstrators who gave Nazi salutes on a 405 Freeway overpass with a number of banners, together with one which learn “Kanye is true concerning the Jews,” referring to latest antisemitic statements by the musician.
Farkas stated the federation is working to make sure security by an initiative that gives “safety monitoring and coaching” for the almost 600 Jewish websites in L.A. County.
With the billboard marketing campaign, Farkas stated they hope to point out the group “that we exist, and that we care, and that we’re not right here to hate.”
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The slogans on the billboards are trendy translations of Jewish homiletical texts and historic Jewish teachings, in line with Farkas. The phrase, “Change your ideas and also you’ll change the world,” is on a billboard on Sepulveda and Olympic boulevards and, he stated, is derived from the work of Maimonides, a Twelfth-century Jewish scholar.
The slogans are “meant to be simple to grasp as shortly as doable, particularly should you don’t have a deep background in Jewish thought, Jewish tradition and biblical textual content,” Farkas stated.
The billboards embrace the federation’s web site, directing customers to the work of the group within the metropolis and alluring them to join their e-newsletter. Farkas stated they’ve acquired notes of assist from “Jews and non-Jews alike, so it feels very encouraging.”
Earlier this yr, the group JewBelong launched an identical effort to battle antisemitism, with sizzling neon-pink banners emblazoned with punchy and unapologetic slogans in bus shelters and main thoroughfares in New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
RELATED: JewBelong goes digital — and sizzling pink — in marketing campaign to sound alarm on antisemitism
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