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| Kanye West (LA Times) |
As someone that leans politically conservative I nevertheless believe that the liberal media has had the best reaction to antisemitism. I have always maintained that liberals have historically served the Jewish people in this country well. This is in fact why I started out as a liberal.
There is not a question in my mind that the liberal political philosophy is what makes the Jewish people so accepted in this country. Liberals by their very nature accept everybody. There is far less dependence on specific ideologies, whether religious or secular – other than being as open minded as possible. Which is for example why liberals are in the forefront of civil rights and gay rights.
Why do I now lean conservative? Liberalism can go – and has gone - too far by veering away from traditional values. That is the nature of being open minded - the hallmark of liberalism. I part company with liberals when it comes to traditional values. For me – and most Orthodox Jews - there are values that are eternal and cannot be subjected to that kind of tolerance.
But, as I said, there is not a doubt in my mind that it is that very tolerance that has made the Jewish people so accepted by the vast majority of Americans. I believe that, ironically it is the lessening of religious influences that helped push the American people to becomes so accepting of the diversity that is the American people.
Conservatives value religious doctrine far more that do liberals. But they too have become more accepting of the Jewish people – having changed their entire outlook on us. We have gone from being ‘Christ killers’ to becoming a brother religion (according to Vatican II). Evangelical Christians that were once antisemitic seem to support us more than ever - sharing many of the same religious values.
All of which brings me to Kanye West. Mr. West has recently exposed himself to be a rabid antisemite. I have to admit, when West’s antisemitism first surfaced, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I just saw him as another ‘Mel Gibson’ to be ignored. But to their credit, the liberal mainstream media has not left this alone. There has been increasing coverage of this – all in the context of the current uptick of antisemitic attacks in this country.
The result of which is very gratifying and honestly - unexpected by me. West thought he was impervious to any negative repercussions. But he was badly mistaken. The lucrative business associations he enjoyed have just about disappeared. One of which was Adidas which stands to lose 250 million dollars this year by their cancelation of doing business with him. His talent agency, CAA, has dropped him and he has been banned from social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
West has nevertheless doubled down in his antisemitism - saying that all of this backlash is proof about how much ‘power and control’ the Jews have.
This is not about ‘control’. It’s about doing the right thing. There has been universal condemnation of West from every corner of American society. Regardless of the negative financial repercussions. I don’t think there is a single entity that once had a relationship with West – that has one now.
Why is this important? West has (had?) a social media following that is exponentially greater than the entire population of Jews in world. His influence is huge. With that kind of following his fans - many of whose heads are filled with mush can easily be influenced to agree with him. And maybe even act on it. There is also the fact that extremist hate groups have used his words to bolster their own antisemitism. As was the case recently with a banner held on an overpass saying the Kanye was right about the Jews.
To be absolutely clear, I still firmly believe that that the number of rabid antisemites in this country is a minuscule proportion of the American population. The vast majority of whom reject antisemtism in any form. And the mainstream media plays a significant part in promoting that attitude.
I believe that the majority of the American people do not see us as having too much power. They instead look at us with admiration at how much we have accomplished despite centuries of adversity. Whether our successes have been financial, scientific, professional, academic, or in the arts. For example the proportion of American Jewish Nobel prize winners is far greater than the proportion of Jews in the population. That is something we can be proud of. Not something to be used to say that we have too much power.
I am happy to see the liberal mainstream media ‘step up’ here and roundly condemn West. I am also gratified that major corporations like Addidas and the Gap have put principles before profit. As I am that social media outlets have canceled his accounts.
This is what America is all about. That being said the increase in antisemitic attacks cannot be ignored. We need to stay vigilant. But it’s nice to have seen this reaction to Kanye West. Especially from those who will lose money because of it. God bless the United States of America and all of the good people in it.
