Tuscaloosa Billboard With “Jew” References Stirs Conversation

The first day the billboard appeared in Tuscaloosa, we received over a dozen messages asking if we knew about the board in East Tuscaloosa.

The billboard is located on Veterans Memorial near Hacberry Lane.

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The message on the board is "You don't have to be a Jew to protect Jews" in huge black letters with a bright pink background.

At the bottom of the billboard, it makes it clear that the buyer is a group known as "JewBelong."

In some of the messages we received and in online discussions on social media, some have wondered if the billboard is an attack on Jewish people.

The group behind it, known as "JewBelong," makes it clear that it is the opposite of an attack on Jewish people; it is designed to speak out against antisemitic violence.

A look at the website, jewbelong.com, finds messages stating the group is about "supporting joyous Judaism and confronting antisemitism".

We contacted a representative from Lamar Advertising in Tuscaloosa, who asked to remain anonymous, stated, "We accept lots of points of view and everything goes through our legal department at corporate before it ever gets printed on a billboard".

The representative also added, "We want to make it clear that we would never accept advertising from any individual or group using any form of hate speech. That is non-negotiable at our company".