When Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took to the stage Tuesday evening at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to make the case for Vice President Kamala Harris as the next president, observant viewers quickly noticed the senator donned a blue square pin on his suit. The pin, created by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism as a symbol of solidarity with the Jewish community and to raise awareness of antisemitism, was given to Schumer directly by Kraft during a recent meeting, eJewishPhilanthropy has learned. 

Schumer and Kraft recently met to discuss antisemitism and the New England Patriots owner “personally thanked [Schumer] for the work he was doing,” Angelo Roefaro, Schumer’s press secretary, told eJP on Wednesday. According to Roefaro, Schumer has “not taken the pin off” since his DNC speech. 

The blue square campaign was launched by FCAS, which is funded by the Kraft Family Foundation, in March 2023 as part of a $25 million ad campaign that also included several national TV commercials. The FCAS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from eJP about Schumer wearing the pin. 

Schumer, who in his DNC address called himself the “highest ranking Jewish elected official in American history,” said that Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump, “peddles” antisemitism.

“I want my grandkids — and all grandkids — to never, never face discrimination because of who they are. But Donald Trump — this is a guy who peddles antisemitic stereotypes,” Schumer told the packed crowd at the United Center. He pointed to Trump’s meetings in 2022 with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago.

Schumer’s wearing of the blue square pin comes as he faces mounting pressure from Jewish leaders and Democratic colleagues with the continued delay in moving to advance the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would address the recent increase of antisemitism on college campuses. A series of video ads that began airing last month accused Schumer of obstructing the bill, which passed the House in May but has since been stalled in the upper chamber. 

Schumer, who did not address Israel in his remarks, noted the blue square pin toward the end of his speech, veering from his prepared words: “Tonight, folks, I am wearing this blue square to stand up to antisemitism, to stand up to all hate,” he said.