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Audience & Antisemitism
• What did Ye Say? In a February 5 interview with TMZ, Real Time host Bill Maher revealed that he had done a two-hour interview with hip-hop superstar Kanye West (aka Ye) for his Club Random podcast—but that he would not be airing it due to West’s antisemitic rhetoric. Is it important to know exactly what Ye said, or is it better not to amplify? Maher, known for not shying away from controversial material, described the rapper as “helpful for spreading the fertilizer—and I do mean fertilizer—for this idea that Israel and the Jews are the worst people in the world.”
In a PBS interview back in October 2022, after West was suspended from Twitter for antisemitic posts, UCLA Israel Studies Professor Dov Waxman observed that “Kanye West’s comments and Trump’s comments and many other celebrities’ comments about Jews have that effect of eroding this taboo against the expression of antisemitism,” adding that airing such speech can lead to antisemitic acts and antisemitic violence.
• In a somewhat different approach, through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft depicted hatred against Jews and other groups in a 30-second Super Bowl ad seen by 123.7 million viewers (the 2024 Super Bowl was the most-watched television program in U.S. history, AP reported).
The ad is part of the Stand Up to Jewish Hate campaign Kraft launched last year. Aside from the point made by some critics that the phrase could be misinterpreted as calling out Jews who express hatred, others were critical of what was seen in the ad. It shows a burning cross and then a flaming swastika. The hashtag “#Hitlerwasright” flashes across a screen and we pan out to a distressed young woman looking at all of this on her computer, tears streaking down her face. The message that silence bolsters hate is a powerful one, but, critics asked, does showing the close-up of the hashtag, one many of the 123.7 million viewers may not have been aware of, help spread the fertilizer?
• And speaking of the Super Bowl, you’d have to be living under a very heavy rock not to know that Taylor Swift was in attendance. But did you know she came under fire for attending a different entertainment event two months prior? The mega pop star went to a December stand-up show headlined by Ramy Youssef that raised money for relief efforts in Gaza through the DC-based NGO American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA). (Yousef is a comedian/actor/director/
“[Taylor Swift] owes Israelis and Jewish Americans an apology,” former Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly said on her SiriusXM talk show. Quoting NGO Monitor, a right-wing outlet based in Jerusalem, Kelly told viewers that ANERA promotes “a biased view of the Israel-Palestine war” and contributes “to the demonization of Israel,” and she vehemently urged viewers to boycott Swift until she issues an apology.
In a New York Times op-ed published the day before the big game (“Why Is Everything Suddenly Taylor Swift’s Fault?”), Jennifer Weiner provided a litany of other issues people have with Swift, some more fringe than Kelly’s, others less so. One was that Swift dated Matt Healy, the front man for the British band The 1975, for a month last summer and didn’t condemn him publicly for appearing to do a Nazi salute at a concert six months before. Healy made the gesture while performing a song that contains the line, “Thank you, Kanye, very cool,” which brings this quick take full circle.
• West’s new album Vultures was released February 10, after delays to secure permission to sample other artists’ material. Ozzy Osbourne, for one, said no way to allowing a live version of his song “Iron Man” to be sampled on West’s album, tweeting (in all caps), “Because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many.” And yet, the fertilizer hit industrial grade as Vultures hit number one on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 24.
Moment readers have asked—for example, when we published an analysis of the album’s problematic lyrics and cover art—why we would give West any more air time. But when so many people—millions—are listening and choosing to ignore his antisemitism, can we? —Jennifer Bardi
Q&A with Jewish Studies Professor Jeffrey Blutinger
The Cal State University Long Beach professor was invited to give a talk at San Jose State University on February 19 titled “Constructing a Just Solution: Where Israelis and Palestinians Go from Here.” After an altercation involving protesters and an SJSU professor, police shut it down and escorted Dr. Blutinger off campus.
Q: Somebody might say, how ironic, if those protesting had only been able to hear your talk…
A: No, because the instant I say that there should be a state of Palestine next to a state of Israel, then communication stops, because I’m a Zionist promoting the existence of Israel.
I hear this often from protesters on campus—they’re not interested in the peace process, a peace treaty or a two-state solution. They’re calling for the violent elimination of the largest Jewish community in the world. And so, it’s not anti-Zionism. It’s antisemitism. They’re not interested in listening, and they don’t want to allow any voices other than their own.
I had a student reporter call me at the airport on my way out. He knew I felt that protesters were going too far but wanted to know how I felt about them standing up for themselves. They weren’t, I said—they were trying to prevent other students from learning. They wanted to prevent me from teaching. Students who came to hear a lecture were denied. Read more.
SELECT INCIDENTS
United Kingdom, February 18
London police secure Criterion Theatre after Jewish actress staring as Shylock in Merchant of Venice 1936 receives antisemitic threats.
United States, February 18
Jewish man in Lauderhill, Florida, is physically assaulted and accosted with antisemitic slurs upon leaving synagogue.
Italy, February 15
Police raid homes of 24 people under investigation for promoting fascism and harassing diners at a restaurant in the Jewish neighborhood of Ferrara in Northern Italy, which included mocking Anne Frank and hailing Adolf Hitler.
The Short Leap from Anti-science to Antisemitism with Peter Hotez and Jennifer Bardi
From the Black Death in the middle 1300s to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jews have often found themselves scapegoated, but in a modern twist, Jews are now also being blamed for the vaccines that protect against the coronavirus. Join world renowned virologist Dr. Peter J. Hotez, author of the recently released book The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning, for a conversation about the roots of this branch of antisemitism, the connections between the “health freedom” movement and the far right, the dangers vaccine scientists face, especially Jewish ones like Dr. Hotez, and what can be done to stop the spread of these conspiracy theories. In conversation with Moment Deputy Editor Jennifer Bardi.
What We’re Reading
Stories from around the Web
Jewish Book Council: “Reporting Antisemitism in the Literary World”
Resources
Key reports and studies on antisemitism around the globe