ST. LOUIS - A series of new billboards popped up this week on Missouri area roads and they might just make you think about religion.
JewBelong, a nonprofit working to curb anti Semitism, erected four of them to bring attention to Judaism and efforts to fight hate.
Some of the billboards include 'We're just 78 years since the gas chamber. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn't an overreaction' on Interstate 70 and Hughes Boulevard in O'Fallon, Missouri, 'Judaism come for your girlfriend. Stay for the lack of hell.' at I-70, Lucas-Hunt and 'can a billboard and anti Semitism? No, but you're not a billboard,' at 170 highway and Woodson.
Archie Gottesman, Co-Founder of JewBelong joined Total Information A.M. to talk about the billboards and how the non-profit working to curb anti-Semitism and to bring attention to Judisim, along with efforts to fight hate.
Gottesman says the main message the group is trying to make through the billboards: to let people be aware that anti-Semitism is growing in the country.
"We're just making people aware because a lot of people don't know that anti Semitism is going up in our country," said Gottesman.
Gottesman says that the group understands if the boards does infuriate a few people, but they believe that they know who their target audience for the boards are and they seen some positive reception from their target audience.
"Our target audience are the Jewish people who aren't very observant or people who are dating someone who is Jewish," said Gottesman, "Our target audience thinks that using a little bit of humor is a good way and frankly, sometimes religion can be a little bit boring, and not just Judaism but many organized religions. So in order to be compelling and get people to notice and take another look, pushing the envelope a little bit is important, and people usually really appreciate it."
