It’s Not “Getting Canceled”—It’s Protecting Jewish Lives
Plus, the problem with Emily Ratajkowski's brand of feminism.
The bad news: Kanye West is back on Twitter.
The worse news: Elon Musk has officially laid off the platform’s moderation team. So he’s here to stay.
You’re probably aware West—now known as “Ye”—was briefly suspended several weeks ago for threatening to go “death con 3 on Jewish people.” And, unfortunately, he’s back with the same dangerous rhetoric—which, we now know, is nothing new for him. West has allegedly been praising Adolf Hitler behind the scenes for years, NBC has confirmed. (Settlements paid by West ensured this information never saw the light of day until now.) White supremacists have since been inspired by West, plastering signs that say “Kanye is right about the Jews” across Los Angeles freeways.
West has also been cheering on Kyrie Irving—the Brooklyn Nets player who just got suspended for five games for promoting an antisemitic “documentary” that includes a fake Hitler quote, denies the Holocaust, and claims Jewish people are “imposters” who worship Satan, stole the identity of the “real” Israelites aka Black people, and pull the puppet strings that control the entire planet. It’s essentially Black Hebrew Israelite propaganda—a fringe group known for these exact antisemitic conspiracy theories that have no basis in science or reality.
Irving had plenty of opportunities to apologize prior to getting suspended, but refused to.
His most recent apology also comes up short with its suspect language, like “I am a seeker of truth and knowledge and I know who I am.”
This isn’t the first time a prominent celebrity or athlete has espoused Black Hebrew Israelite rhetoric. NFL player Desean Jackson got in hot water in 2020 for doing just that.
From a Jew’s perspective, I want to be clear here: This rhetoric isn’t just “offensive.” It’s dangerous.
If there was social media in 1930s Germany, I’d bet it’d look pretty similar to how my newsfeed looks right now.
The problem is—to quote The Atlantic writer Yair Rosenberg—that antisemitism is a “self-affirming” prophecy. If dangerous antisemites aren’t deplatformed, they persist in spreading rhetoric that leads to real-life violence. If they are deplatformed or otherwise punished, they get to point to their North Star of conspiracy theories: that some powerful Jewish cabal controls everything and silences critics.
When West was dropped by Adidas, Balenciaga, and every other sponsor, essentially slashing his net worth in half? It’s the Jews’ fault. When Irving got suspended for five games and forced to apologize? Yep, you guessed it.
Joseph Goebbels would be proud of this turn of events.
First of all, if there is a secret powerful Jewish cabal (read: there isn’t), I have not been invited!
Second of all, this is the oldest antisemitic trope in the book. It was Hitler’s platform, essentially. Jews are historically the scapegoat for society’s ills. The literal Holocaust happened because of these kinds of conspiracy theories. One-third of the Jewish population of the world was wiped out because of these kinds of conspiracy theories.
So, excuse us for desperately wanting antisemites to be held accountable.
Unsurprisingly—because, you know, genocide—Jews make up only 2% of the population of the United States, or .2% of the population of the world. That means most human beings have never (!!!) met a Jew. It’s—sadly, yet unsurprisingly—easiest to buy into stereotypes and conspiracy theories that way.
Also, the word “antisemitic”? It specifically refers to anti-Jewish racism, or Judeophobia. It was coined by Germany in the 1800s and has stuck around ever since, much to many of our chagrins. If someone claims they can’t be “antisemitic” because they’re actually “semitic,” tell them they’re mind-blowingly stupid.
Back to Irving: I’ve seen plenty of discourse about how Amazon should be held accountable for having the documentary, too. And that’s very fair criticism. Amazon should absolutely be held accountable. But who’s going to fire Jeff Bezos? Realistically, what can we do about Jeff Bezos? There isn’t much.
Next: “Free speech” doesn’t mean your speech is free of consequences. “Free speech” doesn’t mean your employer can’t punish you for actions that don’t align with the organization.
In any case, it already feels like the damage has been done. The “documentary’s” book counterpart has already skyrocketed to number-one-bestseller status in at least two categories. The FBI reported that there was a credible bomb threat against New Jersey synagogues. A synagogue in Alabama was set on fire.
And now, with Elon Musk’s new moderation-free Twitter, there appears to be no end in sight. I urge you to not be silent right now, because Jewish lives depend on it. It’s only going to get worse.
Yes, there are conversations worth having about white privilege that some (but not all) Jews have, including myself.
But you know who’s cheering from the sidelines right now, as Jews and Black people—two historically oppressed groups—are pitted against one another? As Jews are, once again, scapegoated as the cause of society’s ills and upholders of a white supremacist system (a system that has historically despised and weeded out Jews)?
Real-life white supremacists. And that’s a threat not just to Jewish lives, but to everyone’s.
Lastly: I hate that I had to write about this. I was dreading writing about this. It’s an uncomfortable conversation to have. But my people’s history has shown me what happens when people stay silent. We know all too well.
The Problem With Emily Ratajkowski’s Feminism
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