Kanye Antisemitic Remarks Help Show Bigger Picture

On Oct. 11, 2022, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, just was suspended from various social media sites because of his antisemitic statements on Twitter and Instagram. Following this, he also lost business partnerships with Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga and more. Elon Musk recently allowed him back Twitter.

The conflict stemmed from his most recent Twitter rampage where he stated he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” This is not the first time Ye has sparked controversy over tweets but the first time he overtly announced his anti-Semitic views. 

In further interviews, he makes more remarks about Jewish businessmen and other conspiracy theories. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, a Fox News host, Ye said, “I prefer my kids knew Hanukkah from Kwanzaa. At least it will come with some financial engineering.” This is based on the stereotype that Jewish people are good at business and making money. 

In the same interview, Ye claims that Jews are “the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are.” He also promoted the sentiment that he could not be antisemitic because he is a Jew because he is African-American.  

The American Jewish Community explains this ideology is not new to the society. They said, “this phrase has been used by many throughout history, today it is most commonly used by Black supremacists claiming Black people—not Jews—are the true chosen people of God. Black supremacy has roots in ‘Black Chosenness’— the belief that African Americans are the descendants of the twelve Hebrew tribes of Israel who settled across Africa after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and were eventually sold into slavery during the Atlantic slave trade.”

“Not disregarding any struggles Black and brown people go through,” said Sadie Wolfe, a practicing Reformed Jewish student at the University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee, “but what I have noticed pop up is that people do not know they are perpetuating antisemitism. They do not even realize it is a problem because they do not view Jewish people as a community that does experience discrimination and prejudice. Jews are seen as a model minority.”

What is concerning about his remarks is the support that rallied behind him. Ye is a renowned rapper and producer, winning two Grammys in 2020 and 2021. Although his music fan base might not be behind him, he is starting to build his own prejudiced community. 

Shortly after Ye’s antisemitic rhetoric went viral on the Internet, a group of demonstrators Nazi saluted with a banner that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews” above an overpass in Los Angeles. 

Antisemitism is not new in the United States. The FBI’s most recent statistics on hate crimes in the United States showed that anti-Jewish crimes totaled 60% of all religious-based violence in 2019. In a survey done by research company SSRS, they found that 24% of Jewish Americans have been targets of antisemitic incidents in 2021. 

“I think a lot of the ways antisemitism expresses itself now is by ‘harmful’ jokes when they are really rooted in antisemitism,” said Wolfe. “And a lot of times are rooted in ideologies created by Hitler and during the Holocaust.”

The State of Antisemitism in America 2021 survey reported that 60% of the general public thinks antisemitism is a problem in America. Comparatively, 90% of Jewish Americans think that antisemitism is a problem in America. When asked if antisemitism increased in the United States in the past five years, 82% of Jewish Americans and 44% of the general public answered increased in the past five years.