It’s Not Just Ye: Rise of Antisemitism in America

Antisemitism isn’t a new thing. It’s a form of othering and dehumanizing that has existed for generations. Yet if you look at the way the news addresses antisemitism, it may seem like antisemitism just appeared out of nowhere. It may seem like Ye, previously known as Kanye West, or Kyrie Irving, said something antisemitic, and then antisemitism materialized that instant. While it is true that West has been perpetuating dangerous antisemitic tropes and propaganda, it is crucial to understand that West is playing into a pattern that has been around for hundreds of years.

Before going into West’s commentary, both social and historical context offers a necessary background. First, the definition of Jewish is important to recognize. Jewish identity doesn’t have a singular definition; it consists of cultural norms, religious practices, and ethnic traditions that make our culture unique.

Jacob Leland, an English 11 teacher and the advisor to the Jewish Affinity Group (JAG), comments that when he observes Jewish traditions,“ anything from lighting candles to braiding challah to complaining about matzah, it’s putting [him]  in touch with [his] grandparents, and their grandparents, etc.”

Mila Einspruch, a sophomore member of JAG, described the importance of community within Judaism, saying “Judaism is a peoplehood.”

There is also the racial part of being Jewish that connects to the definition of antisemitism. Morgan Guzmán, a History 11 teacher and History of the Holocaust teacher, explains the creation of the Jewish race and antisemitism, “When people in Europe were moving away from Christianity, they wanted to still oppress the Jewish community, but they couldn’t do it on a religious basis anymore.”

Simultaneously, society started constructing the idea of race. According to Guzmán, “they created the idea of a race that they could pin to Judaism called the ‘Semite,’… so they apply all of their old prejudices and hatreds to this newly created racial identity.”

In a sense, being Jewish can become a race when you are antisemitic, just as the Nazis used the Jewish race to justify the mass genocide of the Jewish community. Antisemitism has also shifted throughout history, and even though the amount of antisemitism in America diminished after World War II, there has been an upsurge in the past few years. West’s recent commentary is a product of this upsurge.

On October 8th, West tweeted, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE, The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” Also, on December 1, 2022, Ye appeared on Alex Jone’s Infowars program stating, “I like Hitler” along with more outrageous antisemitic phrases. While this tweet was taken down a few days later, it increased the amount of antisemitic hate speech on the internet.

An anonymous member of JAG stated, “I’m afraid to say that I’m Jewish on social media because I’ve seen many friends say that they were Jewish in a tweet or on Tik Tok…Then they got a bunch of responses of people calling them slurs.”

Sabrina Kane, a senior and president of JAG, expresses that at the School “A lot of people were expressing fear.” Aaron Kopelnik, a senior and president of JAG, continued, “To many Jewish students, it seemed to feel like another beat-down.”

Ye’s effect doesn’t just show up in social media; it’s crept into the real world as well. On October 24, an antisemitic hate group hung a banner above an LA freeway stating, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” and people were standing behind the banner, doing the Nazi salute. This same message was placed on a billboard at the University of Florida and on Nov. 26, a man at the Seattle airport started doing the Nazi salute while yelling “Go to the gas chamber” along with other antisemitic hate speech. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2021 was the highest year on record for documented reports of harassment, vandalism, and violence directed against Jews. The watchdog group has tracked these incidents since 1979, and it says 2022 will look a lot like last year. Leland comments that “the mainstreaming of antisemitic views can be profoundly othering.” 

Kopelnik thinks that education is a necessary step for the School community to take in order to support its Jewish population. He thinks “the problem is that [the School administrators/teachers] put too much responsibility to speak up on students, and this is with lots of groups. Stop asking students to educate you; educate yourself.”

Another thing to note is that this is not the first time West has said dangerous and problematic things, in May 2018 he tweeted that he believed slavery was a choice.  Then in July 2020, he stated that Harriet Tubman didn’t actually free the slaves and in October 2022 he posted a photo with Candace Owens wearing ‘White Lives Matter’ shirts. Many have pointed out that his antisemitic comments seem to be getting more attention than his other problematic comments.

Ayesha Numan, an English 10 teacher and the Dean of Equity of Inclusion, added, “One of the things that we have to be wary of is comparing the struggles of the Jewish and the Black community…It’s more about, why… we hold people accountable for one thing over another when they are essentially the same level of inappropriate.” She added, “Whether it’s internalized anti-Blackness or something else, we should still be able to call them out, regardless if they are a part of said community or not.” 

While West’s commentary is shocking, it is essential to understand that West isn’t the sole resurrector of antisemitism. Antisemitism is extremely dangerous and harmful, as all forms of oppression are. Being Jewish, however, shouldn’t just be defined by oppression. Kopelnik explains, “My Judaism is what I choose it to be… It’s using my Judaism for good, and it’s using the past as a platform to better my morality.”

We must remind ourselves that while antisemitism is an old and widespread form of oppression, the Jewish community has been fighting for as long as it’s been around. We’ve persevered before, and we will continue to persevere. I just don’t want us to have to do it alone.