The recent barrage of tweets by Kanye West, controversial moments from prominent figures and the ongoing war in the Middle East have unleashed a new, yet familiar wave of anti-semitism in the world.
On Feb. 7, Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, sent out a series of anti-semitic tweets in which he called himself a Nazi and praised Hitler as “so fresh.” On that following Sunday, West put out a Super Bowl commercial in some regional markets in which he directed viewers to his website Yeezy.com. The only product sold on the website was a t-shirt with the image of a swastika and the name “HH-01.”
This led to backlash from prominent figures in the world. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy called Kanye West “one of the absolute greatest pieces of sh*t of all time” while actor David Schwimmer, best known for his role as Ross on the sitcom “Friends”, called on X owner Elon Musk to “stop giving [West] a megaphone.” Schwimmer also brought up the point that Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on X, which is twice as many as the number of Jews in the World today. British news personality Piers Morgan also chimed in, describing West as having a “sad, pathetic downfall.”
West’s tweets came weeks after Billionaire Elon Musk sparked his own controversy when he gave a hand motion at Donald Trump’s inauguration rally which many believed to be the Nazi salute. Although Musk denies these accusations, many people still view it as an intentional anti-semitic gesture. Convincing for many was Musk’s call-in appearance to a far-right German party (AfD) convention, expressing his opinion that Germans had “too much of a focus on past guilt and [they] should move beyond that,” likely referencing the Holocaust. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to criticize Musk, saying “you are defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity.”
All this is going on as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has concluded over the past week. The ceasefire, which started on Jan. 19 had put a pause on the almost year and a half war, leading to the release of many living hostages and the bodies of eight who were killed during the conflict. The bodies include Ariel and Kfir Bibas who were four years old and nine months old, respectively, when they were kidnapped from their home on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the American Jewish Committee, about 69% of Jewish adults report experiencing antisemitism on the internet or social media. The number increases to 83% for young Jewish adults. Young Jews particularly feel this presence of antisemitism at college campuses. Last year many colleges opted to change aspects of their school year, including graduation ceremonies, due to a large number of encampments protesting the war in Gaza. The strong opposition to Israel involved in many of these protests and encampments may cross the line, targeting Jews regardless of their connection or support for Israel. The AJC notes that about 48% of Jewish college students say that they feel uncomfortable or unsafe on their college campus.
The Foundation To Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), which was founded in 2019 by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, published a superbowl commercial this past February attempting to bring light to not only Jewish hate but all hate in general. The commercial featured Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg and encouraged viewers to leave behind hatred and accept those around them.. This was not the first year that the foundation had posted a Super Bowl ad.
“I thought it was really cool that they brought those two together to make the ad,” freshman Spencer Robinson said.
Jewish teens aren’t letting a rise in antisemitism deter them from being proud of their identity. The Jewish teen organization, BBYO, held their annual International Convention over Presidents Day Weekend. The convention, hosted this year in Denver, Colorado, welcomed over 5,000 Jewish teens from over 60 countries. WJ junior Naveh Cohn was in attendance at this convention.
“It’s cool meeting all the international people and hearing a bunch of different languages,” Cohn said.
The event plays host to many different speakers from diverse backgrounds who come to the convention to share their stories. This year’s speakers included Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito, Olympic and Paralympic medalists Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff and Olympic silver medalist Claire Weinstein. The convention concluded with a concert from music star Swae Lee and DJ Galantis.
“[BBYO] allows us to keep our Jewish identity when people don’t really like us,” Cohn said.
