Grand Canyon Times

In the wake of George Floyd's death in 2020, American Family Insurance joined corporate America speaking out on social justice issues, instituting mandatory employee racial sensitivity training, and donating tens of millions of dollars to the cause. But in the wake of Hamas' terrorist attacks in Israel which left more than 1,400 dead in Israel and increased threats to the Jewish communities in America, the insurance giant is silent. AmFam operates in 19 states including Arizona where the company offers home and auto insurance.

According to CNN, along with many large corporations, American Family's silence is notable, and troubling, to groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which slammed corporate America's lack of response as “disappointing at best, disastrous at worst.”

“Do Israeli lives matter?” asked Restoration of America Founder and President Doug Truax. “Not apparently to many corporations who loudly virtue-signaled about BLM a few years ago, but were deathly silent when the same BLM supported the slaughter of innocent citizens in Israel.”

Right after the George Floyd incident, Jack Salzwedel, as CEO of AmFam, signed the the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion Pledge, committing so-called diversity, equity and inclusion workplace programming, and tweeted on the platform X, "I’m privileged. I have a voice. I want to use it for good. What’s happened (again!) in places like MPS, NYC, GA is simply wrong. I hear the concern, anger, disillusionment from leaders of all colors. Q: Shouldn’t we all be angry?"

According to its website, AmFam additionally committed $105 million toward closing "equity gaps" and addressing societal issues in the areas of education and health equity, climate resilience, and criminal justice reform among others.

American Family Insurance is a strong supporter of Black Lives Matter and has made numerous statements supporting the organization and the cause, according to an article on its website. (Source)

According to a Fox News report, a Black Lives Matter chapter sparked outrage after posting a graphic of a paraglider with a statement "I stand with Palestine." Hamas terrorists used paragliders to attack a music festival in Israel where they proceeded to murder hundreds of attendees and took other captive. Fox reports that videos of "horrifying rapes, murders, attacks and kidnappings" have circulated social media following the brutal attack.

A 2022 report from the ADL found that Arizona experienced the 4th highest increase in antisemitic incidents in the country. The state saw a 155% increase in incidents from the ADL's 2020 audit. (Source)

According to CNN, standing in contrast with American Family Insurance, some companies like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan have come out with strong statements condemning Hamas. A review of American Family Insurance found no public statements by the insurance giant to date. (Source)

Data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System show Salzwedel is a large donor to progressive causes and Democratic candidates, and both Salzwedel, currently serving as AmFam's board chairman, and Bill Westrate, AmFam's current CEO, have made contributions to the company's PAC. (Source)

American Family Insurance's PAC is a large donor to Democratic candidates across the nation, including Reps. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) and Greg Stanton (AZ-04), according to FEC. (Source)