CINCINNATI — "Enough is truly enough."
There’s growing backlash against rapper Ye, best known as Kayne West, after his repeated antisemitic remarks.
"It’s obviously very concerning to me and to basically everyone in the Jewish community," said Rabbi Ari Ballaban with the Jewish Community Relations Council.
In a now-deleted tweet, West said in part, "I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE." Ballaban said West's comments are worrisome because he has a large following.
"Kanye West has more Twitter followers than there are Jews alive on planet Earth," Ballaban said. "The things he says have real impacts on Jewish people’s lives in the United States and across the world."
Justin Kirschner, the regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Cincinnati, said it has been "truly sad" to see West's repeated comments.
"I know that Kanye has a powerful base and he’s been an icon in the music and fashion industry — and he truly is a role model to many, so I think it’s sad to see how far and fast he has fallen," Kirschner said.
The two added the Jewish community has worked hard to build relationships with other communities and fears West's comments could undo their efforts.
"Words truly matter," Kirschner said. "The Holocaust did not start with violence, it started with wild conspiracies, narratives, isolation, boycotts, things like that and his remarks have to be recognized as such that is damaging and have true implications not only on the Jewish community but other minorities."
In an interview on the "Drink Champs" podcast, West repeated antisemitic comments and said he could "say antisemitic things and Adidas can’t drop me."
Ballaban noted West’s repeated comments make more people in the Jewish community feel unsafe.
"Each time there is a new set of appearances or remarks of tweets that come out, people in the Jewish community feel a little more unsafe," Ballaban said.
Since his comments, West’s talent agency CAA, Balenciaga, and Adidas have all cut ties with the rapper.
In a statement, the CEO American Jewish Committee (AJC) Ted Deutch stated, "We welcome this decisive if belated action by Adidas. The company called his comments unacceptable and dangerous in ending West’s most lucrative business partnership. We agree. West has shown no remorse or contrition for his string of antisemitic remarks filled with hate and lies. He believed that as long as the money kept rolling in, he could speak with impunity. Other companies that profit from associating with West must also disabuse him of that notion. West could have been a force for positive change, given his position of vast influence and power. Instead, he chose to go down a hate-filled path that has made him a pariah."
According to the Anti-Defamation League, there were over 2,700 cases of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism last year, which was an all-time high.
Here are some additional resources to learn about antisemitism:
AJC Call to Action Against Antisemitism - https://www.ajc.org/call-to-action [ajc.org]
AJC State of Antisemitism Report - https://www.ajc.org/AntisemitismReport2021 [ajc.org]
