Brazilian Non Profit Turns Sneakers into Kippahs against Racism and Religious Intolerance

Since the beginning of 2024, reports of anti-Semitism have increased by 263% compared to last year, according to the Jewish Federation of Brazil. Due to recent conflicts and the vocalization of speeches by artists against the Jewish people, intolerance is increasingly growing. To curb this wave of hate, StandWithUs Brazil, a non-profit educational institution about Israel, in partnership with VML Brazil, launches the campaign 'Yeermulke: Drop anti-Semitism.'

The name of the initiative comes from the contraction of two words: yarmulke, a Yiddish expression referring to the kippah; and Yeezy, the name of a sneaker line signed by rapper and designer Kanye West - who, by expressing anti-Semitic comments, ended up having his partnership with a major sports product manufacturer terminated and throwing the sneaker into the centre of a major controversy. The slang Drop refers to the way sneaker enthusiasts refer to brand releases.

“Racism and religious intolerance manifest in different environments, including the artistic one. We decided to also combat this evil through art, more specifically through fashion, by re-signifying a sneaker that ended up being at the heart of the whole controversy. Our Yeermulke initiative is not just a campaign against a person or company but a new way to combat anti-Semitism,” says Igor Sabino, content manager of StandWithUs Brazil.

The Yeermulke was designed by the world-renowned designer Alexandre Herchcovitch and made by the brand À La Garçonne, which works with re-signification and sustainability. This is an upcycling piece, where all material for its making was used from a sneaker, and the sole was recycled along with cooperatives.

The limited collection was distributed among personalities who stand against anti-Semitism like Daniel Zukerman, Claudio Lottenberg, Mauricio Schwartz, Rabbi Pessach Kauffman, and Ronny Kriwat.