Kanye West has once again made headlines for his comments about the Jewish community. This time, the Chicago rapper claimed in an Instagram post that watching Jonah Hill in the film 21 Jump Street “made [him] like Jewish people again.” Jewish organizations, including StopAntisemitism and the American Jewish Community, have responded to his statement, saying that they will need to see more action from West before they can believe that his words are sincere.
StopAntisemitism’s executive director, Liora Rez, said that joking about a movie with Jonah Hill is not an acceptable apology from Kanye West, especially given his history of antisemitic comments, TMZ shares. She also noted that West’s antisemitic tirades have a dangerous trickle-down effect of hatred against Jews. The American Jewish Community spokesperson Richard Hirschhaut echoed this sentiment and added that forgiveness is a major value they carry, but West needs to publicly denounce white nationalist Nick Fuentes if he wants to be forgiven.
Both organizations are willing to meet with West and discuss steps he can take to make amends. Rez also emphasized that it is odd that all it might take for West to renounce his vile antisemitism is to watch an 11-year-old Jonah Hill movie. She says that only West knows if he is sincere in his recent comments.
It is worth noting that West has a controversial history with this specific community. He recently professed love for Hitler, hung out with Fuentes, and tweeted about going “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” StopAntisemitism even named West the “Antisemite of the Year” for 2022.
While forgiveness is an important value in Judaism, it is clear that West still has a lot of work to do before the Jewish community can forgive him. His recent comments about liking Jewish people again after watching 21 Jump Street are not enough to make up for his past actions and words. It remains to be seen if West will take concrete steps to repair his relationship with the Jewish community.
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