After sharing antisemitic posts on social media, Kanye “Ye” West is facing criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations.
In a statement shared Sunday afternoon, the Anti-Defamation League condemned the rapper’s recent comments, calling them “dangerous” and pointing readers to resources to identify and combat antisemitism.
“Power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are antisemitic tropes that we break down in our #AntisemitismUncovered Guide,” the Anti-Defamation League stated. “Many of these myths have influenced [Kanye West‘s] comments recently, and it’s dangerous.”
Power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism. All of these are antisemitic tropes that we break down in our #AntisemitismUncovered Guide at https://t.co/1D3LOM8xXQ. Many of these myths have influenced @KanyeWest's comments recently, and it's dangerous. https://t.co/fKQLPFkDR2
— ADL (@ADL) October 9, 2022
West has recently faced account restrictions on both Instagram and Twitter over violations of each individual platform’s guidelines and policies.
West’s Instagram restrictions came first. On Friday, the rapper shared a screenshot of a message he had allegedly sent to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, in which West wrote, “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war.”
Although Instagram did not cite which specific content was in violation of its policies, leading to the decision to restrict West’s account, the post featuring the text conversation has since been deleted.
Following the Instagram restriction, West quickly took to Twitter, posting additional antisemitic statements. In a tweet that has now been deleted because it “violated the Twitter rules,” West wrote: “When I wake up I’m going death [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
A spokesperson for Twitter has confirmed that the company has restricted Kanye West’s account, though, as with Instagram, there was no specification of which specific posts caused the decision.
Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel non-profit that focuses on the entertainment industry, released its own statement Sunday condemning West’s comments.
“In the past week, Ye has spread some of the most vile and age-old stereotypes about Jews to his hundreds of millions of followers,” the group wrote. There should be no place for this kind of hate in our public discourse. We support every entertainer’s right to free speech, but no one has a free pass to target and demonize a minority group with such malice.”
“We are gravely concerned about the impact of Ye’s statements – and how they will affect his fans, particularly young people,” CCP continues. “At the same time, we hope this can be a moment that ultimately creates better awareness about the dangers of antisemitism for Ye, his fans and other entertainers. We remain open to dialogue with him about how harmful and fallacious his comments are.”
The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that describes itself as the “global center for Jewish and Israel advocacy,” released a prior statement on Friday, condemning West’s comments.
