FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver, B.C., June 8, 2026 — As the world turns its attention to the global stage of the FIFA World Cup, a series of striking billboards has appeared across the Greater Vancouver Regional District – across both Canada and Millennium lines, on billboards spanning from Vancouver to Surrey, Coquitlam and Pitt  Meadows, and at transit hubs from Richmond to North and West Vancouver. 

The billboards feature bold, unapologetic messages including:
• Supporting Jews shouldn’t require a PR campaign, but here we are. 
• You don’t have to be a Jew to protect Jews.
• Can a billboard end antisemitism? No. But you’re not a billboard.
• Whether you call it football or soccer, antisemitism is a foul.
• You don’t need a whistle to call out antisemitism. 

The campaign is deliberate, timely, and designed to be impossible to ignore.
“Antisemitism is rising not only globally, but right here in British Columbia,” said Ezra Shanken, CEO of  the Jewish Federation of British Columbia. “Jewish people are experiencing increased harassment,  vandalism, exclusion, and threats in everyday spaces. Too often, that reality is minimized or  misunderstood.”

The campaign communicates with the public using clear and direct language. The aim is to encourage  reflection and dialogue on shared responsibility in addressing hate and exclusion. The billboards are not  about provocation for its own sake; they’re about breaking through the silence.

 

The campaign launches during the FIFA World Cup, a period of heightened global engagement with sport and international audiences.

Sport is intended to reflect fairness, respect, and belonging. However, real sportsmanship isn’t passive. It requires active participation, including speaking up and calling out harmful behaviour and supporting  one another when it occurs.

The campaign asks audiences to consider questions of inclusion and belonging in public life during a moment of global attention.

The messages are intended to encourage dialogue in homes, workplaces, educational settings, and community spaces. “We are asking for honest engagement with what responsibility looks like when hate is not abstract,” Shanken said. 

Antisemitism is a form of racism that has existed for thousands of years. Following October 7, 2023, Jewish communities in British Columbia and across Canada have reported rising incidents of harassment, exclusion, and vandalism in public and institutional spaces.

In 2025, Jewish Federation, in partnership with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), conducted a community survey to assess the lived experience of antisemitism in British Columbia.

Key findings include:
• 85% of respondents reported that antisemitism has “increased a lot.” 
• 93% reported feeling less secure than they did prior to October 7, 2023. 
• 62% reported experiencing at least one antisemitic incident. 
• 46% reported experiencing multiple incidents. 

 

These findings reflect a widespread perception within the community that antisemitism has intensified in both frequency and impact.

 

Jewish Federation of British Columbia invites the public to engage with the campaign and consider the role of civic responsibility in addressing hate and exclusion.
Learn more at jewishbc.ca/combatting-antisemitism.

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About Jewish Federation of British Columbia
Jewish Federation of British Columbia is the central planning, convening, facilitating, and fundraising 
organization for the local Jewish community in the province. Jewish Federation works collaboratively 
with more than three dozen partner organizations, unifying their work. Together, we touch the lives of 
thousands of 
community members locally, provincially, in Israel, and around the world.

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Caryl Dolinko
Director, Communications and Marketing 
Jewish Federation of British Columbia
[email protected]