Rapper Kanye West has been blocked from his Twitter account after he tweeted on October 8 that he would go “death con 3” against the Jews.
West had previously been blocked from his Instagram account after he shared a text exchange he had with fellow rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs in which Combs lambasted West for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt. West responded by alleging that Jews has told Combs to reach out to him. The Instagram block prompted West to tweet: “When I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” “Death con 3” is an apparent reference to DEFCON3, a United States military readiness level. West then tweeted that he couldn’t be antisemitic because “black people are Jew also.” “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone who opposes your agenda,” West wrote.
Jewish groups condemned West’s remarks.
“The behavior exhibited this week by @kanyewest is deeply troubling, dangerous, and antisemitic, period,” the Anti-Defamation League tweeted. “There is no excuse for his propagating of white supremacist slogans and classic #antisemitism about Jewish power, especially with the platform he has.” They added in a subsequent tweet that West used the antisemitic tropes of “power. Disloyalty. Greed. Deicide. Blood. Denial. Anti-Zionism.” In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, West had said that the Abraham Accords forging peace between various Gulf Arab nations and Israel were simply a way for Jared Kushner to make money. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is Jewish.
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
The Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted: “When all else fails threaten Jews? We have no idea what set off @kanyewest but don’t blame JEWS OR [the] JEWISH community! Will this celebrity be held accountable for his cascading hatred?”
When all else fails threaten Jews? We have no idea what set off @kanyewest but don’t blame JEWS OR JEWISH community! Will this celebrity be held accountable for his cascading hatred?https://t.co/jmVY8BK2pq
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) October 9, 2022
“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,” Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) said in a statement. “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.” They added that they are “gravely concerned about the impact of Ye’s statements – and how they will affect his fans, particularly young people.” “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,” CCFP continued. “We remain open to dialogue with him about how harmful and fallacious his comments are.”
The Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance said in a statement that West is perpetuating “stereotypes that have been the basis for discrimination and violence against Jews for thousands of years.” “The Black and Jewish communities must stand together through incidents like this to make clear that trafficking in hateful stereotypes is unacceptable – and that the words of one entertainer do not reflect the views of an entire community,” they said.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles wrote in an Instagram post that they were “alarmed” by West’s “blatantly antisemitic rhetoric.” “Mr. West has tens of millions of followers and his hateful speech is further spread and elevated to tens of millions of media outlets around the world,” they said. “We are deeply concerned about the impact these words have especially on young people.”
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Stop Antisemitism tweeted, “Kanye’s antisemitic rants do not warrant ‘understanding’, ‘sympathy’, or ‘prayers’. Jew hatred -regardless of source – must be condemned through and through.”
Kanye's antisemitic rants do not warrant "understanding", "sympathy", or "prayers".
Jew hatred -regardless of source – must be condemned through and through.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) October 10, 2022
B’nai Brith International tweeted that West’s remarks were “appalling.” “These remarks seem now to be part of a pattern and do not belong on social media or anyplace else,” they wrote.
These remarks seem now to be part of a pattern and do not belong on social media or anyplace else.
— B'nai B'rith Intl. (@BnaiBrith) October 9, 2022
Zionist Organization of American National President Morton A. Klein called West “a despicable bigoted racist [Jew-hater] mindlessly threatening Jews.” Klein argued that if someone threatened to go “death con 3” on Blacks, then “he would call us all despicable bigoted racist [Black-haters].”
Kanye West is a despicable bigoted racist Jewhater mindlessly threatening Jews. How would he like people threatening “defcon 3” on Black people. He would call us all despicable bigoted racist Blackhaters.
— Morton Klein (@MortonAKlein7) October 9, 2022
