By Alberto Arellano<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an ethical will, Robert (\u201cBob\u201d) Kraft\u2019s father directed him to make sure that every night when he went to bed that the people with whom he had interacted that day were richer for having known him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat symbolizes tikkun olam<\/em> to me,\u201d Kraft, the philanthropist and billionaire owner of the New England Patriots said on July 30 at a plenary session<\/a> of the NAACP\u2019s 114th National Convention in Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, was part of the panel, as were Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, and musician and activist Meek Mill, with whom Kraft developed a noted friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love this country with all its faults because I was a young man who went to school on full scholarship. I didn\u2019t have my first car on my own until I was 25. I\u2019ve been able to live my dream,\u201d Kraft, chairman of the Kraft Group and founder of the\u00a0Foundation to Combat Antisemitism<\/a>, told the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had a greater chance of being a starting quarterback in the NFL\u2014there are 32\u2014than of owning a franchise in my hometown,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat does that mean? It means this country has been open to everyone to have great opportunities, and I\u2019m very worried about the country right now, what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a need to unify against hatred, which is on the rise and which first manifests as antisemitism, according to Kraft. \u201cIt starts with the Jewish people. It will go to every other minority group,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to stand together and stand proud, and push back on this to keep the vibrancy of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n