Our Story
is One of Connection

The Artists Against Antisemitism is a 501(c)(3) committed to raising awareness of antisemitism in the arts and uniting the artistic community to build a kinder, brighter, more understanding future.

Our organization was “accidentally” founded in November of 2023 by 33 authors who came together in a moment of darkness and uncertainty following October 7th. We had a desire to do something in the face of rising antisemitism when the world and our social media feeds were filled with so much hate. 

Our answer: to spread light and love in what we thought would be a one-time auction event. As our group began to grow and garner more attention and support, we realized there was a need for an organization like ours and so much more we could do. After our auction, we became an official nonprofit, built a board of directors, and started to plan for the future and all the things we could accomplish together. 

Today, The Artists Against Antisemitism is a 501(c)(3) registered in the state of Illinois (EIN: 99-2685353).  Our mission is to raise awareness of antisemitism, promote education about Jewish history and culture, help those experiencing Jewish hate to fight against it, and work to help build a kinder, brighter, more understanding future within the arts. 

The work we do is informed by
four guiding principles.

We believe that through awareness, education, celebration, and community building, we can create a framework on which to build a more informed, empathetic, joyful, and unified world.

Awareness

By using social media and creating focused campaigns, we call attention to the issues facing Jewish artists and work to combat them.

Education

By creating resource guides, sponsoring training sessions, and sharing content, we combat hate that grows from a lack of knowledge.

Celebration

By sharing the joy and accomplishments of Jewish artists, we elevate them and introduce them to new audiences.

Community

By creating a safe space for Jewish artists and allies to come together, we offer connection, support, and a vibrant community.

Meet the 2024-2026
Board of Directors

The Artists Against Antisemitism is a volunteer-run organization, and our board of directors is always looking for additional support. If you’d like to get involved, learn more about how you can volunteer. 

Co-President

Alison Hammer

  • By day, I’m an SVP Creative Director for an advertising agency. By nights and weekends, I write fiction. I have two solo books, You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me, and I’m also half of the writing duo Ali Brady. Our most recent book, Until Next Summer, hit the USA Today Bestseller List. You can learn more at www.alisonhammer.com and www.alibradybooks.net.

  • In the days following October 7th, this organization gave me hope when I felt hopeless. It gave me a community when I felt incredibly alone. It gave me purpose and direction and a way to channel my pain into something productive, and it gave me the platform to bring our voices together to make a real difference by spreading love and light. 

  • I have always been moved by Jewish music—and I am a big fan of The Shvesters, whose beautiful harmonies give me goosebumps. I particularly love their versions of ’Sunrise, Sunset’ and ‘Eli, Eli,’ but everything they sing is beautiful. (Links: sunrise, sunset, Eli, Eli)

Co-President

Jill Santopolo

  • I'm a VP and Publisher of children's books and an internationally bestselling author of books for children, teens, and adults. My novel The Light We Lost was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick and has been optioned for film by Southpaw Entertainment. You can read more about me and the work I do at www.jillsantopolo.com.

  • I want to help build a world that values unity over division and compassion over hate, where Jewish children don't ever have to hide who they are to feel safe.

  • The Yad Vashem Children's Memorial, designed by architect Moshe Safdie.

Co-Vice President

Elizabeth Berkowitz 

  • I'm an art historian currently serving as the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization. My writings on modern art historiography, interwar German painting, the Bloomsbury group, and more have appeared in both academic and popular publications. My career has included teaching and cultural leadership in university, museum, library, and archival spaces.

  • I joined The Artists Against Antisemitism to help create a community of mutual support for and with Jewish creatives. Though antisemitism is certainly nothing new, how we choose to address and counter it can be. I believe in The Artist Against Antisemitism's mission to lead with empathy, education, and celebration of Jewish creative voices in the face of discrimination.

  • Any print series by Lea Grundig, Judy Batalion's The Light of Days, Zoya Cherkassky's 7 October 2023 series, El Lissitzky's Prouns and The Story of Two Squares, the concept behind and exhibition history of Peggy Guggenheim's "Art of This Century" gallery, Louise Nevelson's Sky Cathedral, Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind Family, and many, many, many more!

Gilly Segal

Co-Vice President

  • I'm a lawyer and author of award-winning, bestselling novels for young adults, including I'm Not Dying With You Tonight and Why We Fly. You can read more about me at www.gillysegal.com.

  • I want to work together with the arts community to stem the rising tide of antisemitism and create spaces where Jewish artists are welcome and celebrated.

  • Marc Chagall's The Fiddler

Secretary

Erika Dreifus 

  • Trained as an historian, I'm the author of Birthright: Poems and Quiet Americans: Stories, which was named an American Library Association/Sophie Brody Medal honor title for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Learn more about me/my work at www.ErikaDreifus.com.

  • The team's work in the aftermath of October 7 so impressed me; I recognized early on that I wanted to be a part of it.

  • Debbie Friedman's (z"l) arrangement of the "Oseh Shalom" prayer for peace—especially as performed at the 2012 Memorial Concert in Friedman's honor at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Jerusalem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isUqIKEgvtg).

Treasurer

Jennifer Rofé

  •  I am a literary agent to authors and illustrators of children's literature. My clients include numerous award-winning and bestselling creators and industry newcomers. I am a proud Los Angeles native and the granddaughter and daughter of Holocaust survivors and Cuban-Jewish refugees.

  • The arts are for everybody. There should be no space for hate and exclusion in the arts. So if I can help protect Jewish creators from experiencing discrimination and ostracization in artistic spaces, I will.

  • Anything by Marc Chagall, especially his stained glass windows.

Arden Joy

Board Member

  • I write across genres, from Jewish rom-coms like Keep This Off the Record and Leave This Off the Books to mindful parenting in The Nurture Method. I’m also an award-winning educator and community builder, and the founder of Girls Who Travel, a global platform that makes travel more inclusive, sustainable, and empowering for women.

  • I believe the creative community should be a beautiful, welcoming space that invites everyone to share their talents, ideas, and joy. Since October 7, I’ve watched that space shift -- infected by hate, applauding exclusion, and turning away from the values I thought we all shared. I started working on my own to bring back the light and was grateful to connect with other strong creatives who are doing the same.

  • Maurice Sendak’s illustrations in Where The Wild Things Are have always stayed with me. Learning that he was Jewish and that his monsters were shaped by the shadows of the Holocaust gave his work even more meaning to me, especially now that I am reading these stories to my children.

Board Member

Lisa Barr

  • I am a New York Times bestselling author of WWII thrillers, journalist, mom of three daughters (drama central), daughter of Holocaust survivor, and yoga enthusiast (keeps me sane).

  • After Oct. 7th I needed a haven to discuss the difficulties facing Jewish authors – surging antisemitism, anti-Israel sentiment, book world cancellations, harassment, blacklists, and review bombing. It was important for me to be part of a community, bond, and join hands during these dark times by putting our words into action to help combat antisemitism.

  • La Vie by Marc Chagall – seen in Saint-Paul de Vence.

Board Member

Lindsay Bezalel

  • I am the Associate Publisher and Marketing and Publicity director of two non-fiction imprints at Penguin Publishing Group and the proud mother of two boys.

  • I want to help create a world in which my children aren't afraid to draw an Israeli flag in art class or sing "Hatikvah" in school. The antisemitism I've witnessed in the arts is extremely disturbing, and I want to be a part of something that helps stop it.

  • This performance by Koolulam, a social-musical initiative meant to bring people together from any and all walks of life. They gathered 600 Holocaust survivors and their families together to sing "Chai" by Ofra Haza to mark Yom Hashoah a few years ago. It is beautiful for a number of reasons.

Board Member

Susan B. Kason

  • I am the author of a memoir and two biographies and have co-edited an anthology of dark stories set in Hong Kong. My book Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon was a 2023 Zibby Awards finalist. I am also honored to be a 2024-25 Jewish Book Council Network Author. My website is www.susanbkason.com.

  • After October 7, I have wanted to do more to lift up Jewish communities. I love the work that The Artists Against Antisemitism is doing to raise awareness of Jews in the arts and to support education about antisemitism.

  • The stained glass windows by Marc Chagall at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Board Member

Teme Ring

  • Since 2010, I’ve interviewed comedians and other creative folks for the Chicago Tribune’s TribLocal, RedEye, and ChicagoNow, and for my own site, Comedians Defying Gravity. Comedians Defying Gravity was a finalist for the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award. I am also a former attorney.

  •  In 2022, I saw a popular comedian tell antisemitic jokes to a laughing, sold-out crowd at a celebrated Chicago theater. Just one of many incidents that year. Following October 7, 2023, and the torrent of antisemitic hatred it unleashed, my stress levels shot through the stratosphere.  I had to direct my energy into pro-active tikkun olam. When I learned about The Artists Against Antisemitism, with its emphasis on repairing antisemitism in the arts world with awareness, education, love, and light, and that it was founded by  authors I love, I knew I had to contribute in any way possible.

  • Keren Pele’s "Bat Li Pitom", a song about “the friendship between women in places where we need to empower one another.”  And two acts earning standing ovations on this season’s America’s Got Talent: Roni Sagi & Rhythm, and  the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a group of Israelis and Palestinians.

Board Member

Shelly Sanders 

  • I’m the author of five historical fiction novels about unsung women who changed history. Daughters of the Occupation (HarperCollins, 2022) is a Canadian bestseller; Carol Memmott of the Washington Post says this “haunting novel refers not only to the victims of Latvia’s Holocaust but also to their descendants, who carry the trauma of their ancestors.” The Night Sparrow will be published by HarperCollins in spring 2025. I’ve also written essays for Writer’s Digest, Lilith Magazine, and the Jewish Book Council’s JB Daily about my search for my Latvian Jewish roots, balancing history and fiction, and writing with ADHD. You’ll find reviews, synopses, and my blog at www.shellysanders.com.

  •  I want to live in a world where people can be their authentic selves without fear; my grandmother hid her Jewish roots because of the horrific antisemitism she endured in Russia and Canada, leaving our family without knowing where we’re from and what our ancestors overcame.

  • A work of Jewish art that moves me: Chagall’s Over Vitebsk, 1913, because my great grandfather is from the same shtetl.

Board Member

Yardena Schwartz

  • Yardena Schwartz is an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer who was based in Israel for a decade until 2023. Her reporting from four continents has appeared in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Review of Books, The Economist, TIME, National Geographic, and Foreign Policy.

    Yardena previously worked at NBC News and MSNBC. She graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School in 2011, received an Emmy nomination for her work at MSNBC in 2013, and the RNA award for excellence in magazine reporting in 2016. Yardena now lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and children. Ghosts of a Holy War is her first book.

  • I joined the Artists Against Antisemitism to channel my frustration and despair over the prevalence of antisemitism in the artistic community into something constructive. To be a part of an inspiring network of bridge builders and to help educate, inform, and confront the avalanche of misinformation that is driving so much of the antisemitism we are witnessing.  

  • The music of Idan Raichel, the mystical paintings of the late Israeli artist Baruch Nachshon, and Yossi Klein Halevi's literary masterpiece Like Dreamers

The Founding Members
Who Started It All 

Click each author’s name to learn more about them.

Elyssa Friedland
Harper Kincaid
Heidi Shertok
Jackie Friedland
Jaclyn Goldis
Jane L. Rosen
Jamie Brenner
Jean Korelitz
Jean Meltzer
Jenny Mollen
Jill Kargman

Abby Stern
Alison Greenberg
Alison Hammer
Alison Rosen
Aliza Licht
Alyson Richman
Alyssa Rosenheck
Brenda Janowitz
Courtney Sheinmel
Dara Levan
Debbie Reed Fischer

Jill Santopolo
Julia DeVillers
Lisa Barr
Lynda Cohen Loigman
Meredith Schorr
M.J. Rose
Renee Rosen
Samantha Ettus
Sara Goodman Confino
Stacy Igel
Zibby Owens 

In the News

The Artists Against Antisemitism has been featured around the world. Scroll to see the stories.

FAQs

If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, email our team.

  • As an organization, The Artists Against Antisemitism is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by a group of Jewish authors in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. Our mission is to raise awareness of antisemitism in the arts and unite the artistic community. 

    We welcome and support creators of all kinds of art and anyone, Jewish or non-Jewish, who wants to help stop the rise in hate crimes, prevent more antisemitic acts, and foster inclusive creativity and curation. We hope to build a kinder, brighter, more understanding world. 

    Our group came together because of a shared belief in spreading light to offset hate. At the outset, our Founding Members team consisted of contemporary Jewish writers, and our Board of Directors features artists and those adjacent to the arts.

  • Our extended community is for everyone: artists, creators, curators, and supporters from all disciplines—Jewish and non-Jewish, around the world. Anyone who wants to help stop the rise in hate crimes, prevent antisemitic acts, stand with the Jewish people through this wave of hatred, and strive to create a world where creativity flourishes free from discrimination is welcome to join our efforts and programs.

  • In a few words: to raise awareness of antisemitism; promote education about Jewish history and culture; and work to help build a kinder, brighter, more understanding future within the arts.

  • We like to think of The Artists Against Antisemitism as an organization with multiple arms all feeding into our central mission. We run an annual auction where we raise money for organizations whose missions align with ours as well as for specific projects of our own. Those projects include awareness-raising campaigns on social media and elsewhere, sponsoring virtual training sessions for various groups within the arts, creating resource guides to increase the understanding and awareness of antisemitism in artistic spaces, promoting Jewish artists from all disciplines, building community arts projects, and working to connect Jewish artists experiencing antisemitism with other organizations who can offer support–legal or otherwise. We are working to build a community both on and offline to provide a safe and supportive space for Jewish artists to meet and chat. We’d love to have you join us.

  • This group came together to fight antisemitism. We condemn hatred of and violence against Jewish people around the globe; that includes Israel, where the world’s largest Jewish population lives. As a Jewish group, we support the right of Israel to exist. We respect the right of everyone in our group to have their own opinions on the politics and government of Israel, as we respect the right of everyone in our group to have their own opinions on the politics and governments of the United States and all other countries.

  • The money we raise through donations goes to running our organization and developing projects like awareness-raising campaigns, resource guides, community arts projects, celebrations, etc. The money raised through our auction is divided into two streams: a percentage is raised for partner organizations whose missions align with ours, and a percentage is earmarked for specific The Artists Against Antisemitism projects.

  • The Artists Against Antisemitism is a registered 501(c)(3) and your donation is tax deductible.

  • To learn more about our auction and what types of items and experiences we’re looking for, please visit our auction page. 

Have a question we didn’t answer? Send us an email or fill out our contact form. You can also take a look at our auction-specific FAQ.

If We’re Not What You’re Looking For

You may be trying to find one of these groups:

Artists Against Antisemitism UK

Art Against Antisemitism

A Germany-based Artists Against Antisemitism

Photographer Zusha Goldin’s Artists Against Antisemitism Campaign