A hip-hop mogul, Russell Simmons, is preparing to unveil a series of public service announcements about anti-Semitism to be aired in America, Europe, and even Israel, but some Jewish leaders said his reluctance to distance himself from a widely criticized minister, Louis Farrakhan, might undermine his message.

The “I am a Jew” spots, featuring pop icons and movie stars such as Beyonce Knowles and Leonardo DiCaprio, is Mr. Simmons’s latest project from the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. Mr. Simmons is chairman of the nonprofit organization.

“We welcome every effort to expose and the sensitize people to anti-Semitism,” the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, Abraham Foxman, said in an interview. “But for a person of his stature to call on the community to come out and condemn anti-Semitism, he should do the same.”

Mr. Simmons could not be reached for comment yesterday. The successful entrepreneur, who founded the Def Jam record label and the Phat Farm clothing line, has lent his star power to push for progressive causes, including reforming Kentucky Fried Chicken’s slaughter practices and promoting awareness of animal abuse. Mr. Simmons has, however, continued to support Mr. Farrakhan, despite the Nation of Islam’s reputation for making anti-Semitic statements, Mr. Foxman said.

Last December, at a pre-Kwanzaa rally against police brutality in Newark, N.J., Mr. Farrakhan reportedly called the war in Iraq “Israel’s war,” and in October, at a speech in a Chicago mosque, he criticized President Bush and Senator Kerry for speaking with leading Jewish organizations, according to ADL records. “It is hypocritical for Mr. Simmons to lead a charge against anti-Semitism while failing to denounce manifestations of anti-Jewish hatred within his own community,” Mr. Foxman said in a statement Monday. “The fight against anti-Semitism begins at home. Mr. Simmons needs to immediately and publicly distance himself from Minister Farrakhan’s hateful rhetoric.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Simmons encouraged the African-American community to “join forces with the Jews in a common struggle against expressions of anti-Semitism in Europe and America,” in a Martin Luther King Day letter written with the foundation’s founder and president, Marc Schneier, a prominent Orthodox rabbi.