Robert Kraft Announces Antisemitism Initiative – And He's Got Tom Brady and Meek Mill On Board

The New England Patriots owner and his family are investing $25 million into the initiative on behalf of his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced a new initiative to fight antisemitism, and the NFL legend tells PEOPLE he's already got support from two of his celebrity friends.

The 81-year-old billionaire is investing $25 million into a multi-faceted campaign fighting antisemitism through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS).

The foundation has established a symbol of support — a blue square emoji — to allow everyone the opportunity to speak out against hate. "What's happening in America today, it is a big part of my life," says Kraft.

The foundation hopes to "educate all Americans on" the recent rise of antisemitism. "There's been work done that shows that 50% of Americans do not realize that antisemitism is any problem, and the Jewish population is roughly 2.4% of the population in the US but yet receives over 55% of the hate crimes," Kraft explains.

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The Jewish community "is not in a position to solve this problem on our own," the Patriots owner says. "We need all Americans and that's why we've come up with this blue emoji to be a symbol of asking all Americans to stand with us and help fight this."

Kraft tells PEOPLE he's enlisted a handful of his famous friends to participate in the initiative, including newly-retired Tom Brady.

Kraft says he's spoken to Brady, 45, about the blue emoji symbol ahead of the campaign's launch. "He and I are still very tight and he will be using this blue emoji when we kick off again. He promised he would."

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Another well-known friend of Kraft's, rapper Meek Mill, will join the cause.

In fact, Meek, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, will join Kraft on an upcoming trip to Poland where the NFL owner will lead the 2023 March of the Living. Kraft will be one of the leaders as 20,000 people walk between the remnants of concentration camps there.

Kraft says he and Meek have "bonded" over their previous efforts in social justice work, namely the founding of the Reform Alliance after a judge sentenced Meek to two to four years for violating probation in a 2008 gun and drug case by getting arrested twice in 2017.

According to the organization's website, the Alliance aims to "transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing."

"He would tell you that I helped get him out of jail," Kraft says of the rapper. "And we started the Reform Alliance when my friend Michael Rubin and Jay-Z, and Meek and I were the founders to try to change the whole parole system."

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Kraft says he wants Meek to join him in Poland to "see what went on" in Holocaust camps. "So when I tell you there are 15 million Jews in the world today, what happened 75, 80 years ago with the killing of 6 million, they would've represented 60, 70 million people today," Kraft explains. "And it is really horrible."

Now, Kraft says his foundation is "hoping that this blue square emoji becomes a symbol of solidarity, bringing all people together, helping us fight antisemitism, but really fighting all kinds of hate."

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Advocating against prejudice is a priority for Kraft, who says the Jewish community is just one of the groups targeted by hate in America at an alarming rate. "To see groups castigating people just because of an accident of Earth, it's very shocking to me."

"None of us had any control over how we were born, what our skin color would be, what religion our parents were," he says. "But we have freedom of choice to live the way we want, so I'm willing to commit significant capital. And really, we're preserving what I think is fundamental to the great strength of America."

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Kraft's efforts to use his influence for positive change go back to when he first purchased the New England NFL team. "When we bought our team in 1994, I paid way too much money and the team was losing money," he explains.

Yet, he says his late wife Myra Kraft, who he remembers as "a great volunteer in the community," encouraged him to "do something meaningful" with the team beyond writing a check. "We got each of our players to do 10 appearances for non-financial return and we were the first team to do this back in '94 in our contracts," recalls Kraft, who knows his team has the power to make a difference.

"There's nothing that brings people together like the NFL, so it's our chance to use our players to build community and build bridges and bring people together and I hope our team continues to be a great example of that," Kraft says.

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