Jewish groups condemn Ye's new antisemitic tirade: "desperate bid for attention"
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Kanye West and Bianca Censori attend the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 2, in Los Angeles. Photo:
Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, posted yet another antisemitic tirade on X on Friday, including praises for Hitler and declaring himself a Nazi.
The big picture: His outburst drew swift condemnation from Jewish and civil rights groups. It comes days after a coalition of U.S. and Canadian Jewish groups said they will leave X, the social media formerly known as Twitter, after seeing a rise in toxic speech on the platform.
Driving the news: Ye made dozens of posts on X early Friday to his 32 million followers where he called himself a Nazi and said antisemitism is "just some (expletive) Jewish people made up to protect their (expletive)."
- He also posted that he loved Hitler, and said he didn't trust Jewish people, though some he claimed were his best friends.
- "IM NEVER APOLOGIZING FOR MY JEWISH COMMENTS (sic)," he wrote in one post, before bragging that he could say whatever he wanted.
- Ye also posted on X on Thursday his support for Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who is awaiting trial on multiple sex trafficking and abuse charges.
His posts also come just days after the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Soviet forces liberating Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.
- The posts also follow criticism of X owner Elon Musk after he gave what scholars and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
- An X spokesperson did not return an Axios request seeking comment.
What they're saying: Civil rights group and Jewish groups said Ye's remarks could fuel more antisemitism.
- "Once again, Kanye West has spewed vile antisemitism, glorifying Hitler and spreading Nazi propaganda on his social media platforms in a desperate bid for attention," Jewish Future Promise president Hadara Ishak said in a statement.
- "His latest remarks are not just offensive; they are dangerous."
- CyberWell founder & executive director Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor blasted Musk and other social media tech leaders for abandoning their moderation standards.
Flashback: Multiple organizations and celebrities distanced themselves from Ye in 2022 after he made a series of similar antisemitic posts.
- Ye was restricted from Twitter and Instagram after posting antisemitic messages, including saying he was "going death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE."
- Ye was briefly banned from the platform but returned after Musk announced that his social media company had restored the musician's account.
- Musk also reinstated the X account of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
Zoom out: Anti-Jewish hate crimes reported to police across 20 major cities in 2023 rose 48% from the previous year, an analysis by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, shared with Axios found.
- For the first time, Jewish-targeted hate crimes were the most frequent bias attacks in the largest U.S. cities, according to decades of record keeping by the center.
