Kanye’s Bigotry ‘Emboldens Other Antisemites’: FL Holocaust Museum

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Recent antisemitic comments by Kanye West “embolden other antisemites to trumpet their hate, too,” the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg warned in a statement provided to Patch.

The musical artist and fashion designer — who now legally goes by Ye — shared his bigoted statements with his social media followers, ramping up the antisemitic rhetoric last month.

In one tweet, he wrote that he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people.” In other tweets, the Grammy-winning rapper insinuated that Jewish people use their control and influence in the music industry to intimidate him, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

A number of brands, companies and corporate partners have cut ties with West over the comments, including Adidas — which produced his multi-billion-dollar Yeezy sneaker and apparel line — Balenciaga, Creative Artists Agency, Gap, Footlocker and JPMorgan Chase, according to the Washington Post.

He was also suspended from Twitter and Instagram.

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When West was finally allowed back on Instagram, he told followers in a post that he lost $2 billion in one day following the remarks, The Hill reported.

Some fans are also upset with West about his antisemitic comments. In Miami Beach, one former fan, Danny Shiff, shared videos of himself setting his Yeezy sneaker collection on fire on Instagram and TikTok, Insider reported.

"Kanye West is going to spread this hate and talk this (expletive). It's time that everybody drops him," Shiff said.

But others, who share the musician’s beliefs, are energized by his comments, the Florida Holocaust Museum said.

“This past weekend, we’ve all witnessed that behavior across Florida,” the museum said. “Sadly, our community has endured this for some time; the Tampa Bay area has already seen antisemitic flyers and banners several times in 2022.”

Last weekend, antisemitic statements were found in public areas in Jacksonville, including the phrase, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” projected outside a stadium hosting a high-profile Florida-Georgia football game, according to CNN.

In August, a small group waved a Nazi flag and antisemitic banners from the Pinellas Trail overpass at Tyrone Boulevard and Park Street, near St. Petersburg’s Tyrone Square mall. One of the banners read, “End abortion. Save white babies.”

Over the past two years, there have been multiple incidents of antisemitic flyers being distributed to residents in various Florida cities, including St. Petersburg, Tampa, Sarasota, Miami.

And in May 2021, the Florida Holocaust Museum was the target of vandals when antisemitic graffiti was spray-painted on its downtown building.

The Florida Holocaust Museum said that despite the artist's hateful comments, it's heartening to see how people, businesses and organizations are responding to West.

“The most important aspect of Kanye’s antisemitism isn’t his absurd lies, but rather the public response to them,” the museum said. “At a time when rampant antisemitism is too often challenged only by Jews, it’s been valuable to see such a large and diverse coalition stand as allies with the Jewish community.”

The museum's statement added, “Like other forms of racism, antisemitism is a problem for society at large, and the response to antisemitic acts should reflect that. Broad condemnation should be the default response to every instance of anti-Jewish hate, rather than the exception.”

The long-term solution to antisemitism is education, the holocaust museum said. It offers teaching tools appropriate for both children and adults at no cost. These tools for businesses, civic organizations and the classroom can be found here.