In recent days, billboards have been popping up across New York City—and social media. Created by a company called JewBelong, the massive hot-pink ads display bold slogans in sans-serif font to raise awareness about Jewish issues. But what began as a cute (if cringey) taglines about Jewish acceptance have morphed into militant mottos demanding we #EndJewHate, citing gas chambers and making awkwardly defensive demands to the general public. Are they working? Probably not. But here we are, talking about them anyway. Avi and Phoebe break down the meaning behind the marketing.
Then, Phoebe talks about the new Picasso exhibit curated by comedian Hannah Gadsby, and the idea of separating problematic artists from their art.
What we talked about
- See the billboards at jewbelong.com
- “With Hannah Gadsby’s ‘It’s Pablo-matic,’ the Joke’s on the Brooklyn Museum” in the New York Times
- “Bad waitress” by Becca Schuh
Credits
Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast or donating to The CJN.