Charlotte Jewish leader wants public to denounce antisemitism, says tropes pose threat
A Charlotte Jewish community leader is speaking out against recent antisemitic remarks by rapper Kanye West and is calling on others in a plea for unity over the concerning statements.
West, who legally goes by Ye, sparked controversy last month after making statements on various social media platforms and during interviews suggesting death threats toward Jewish people and unearthing other racial tropes.
The remarks are the latest in inflammatory rants the rapper has made — angering many — including that slavery was a “choice” and promoting “White Live Matter” T-shirts.
Sue Worrel, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, explained that “antisemitic tropes pose a real threat” to Jewish people.
“The more antisemitic tropes are repeated online and in interviews, the more they become normalized and accepted,” Worrel stated in an email to The Charlotte Observer. “When a high-profile figure like Kanye West participates in perpetuating antisemitic tropes, it poses a real threat… his followers and fans think that antisemitic beliefs are just part of going against the status quo and challenging existing systems.”
Worrell is calling on everyone to help stop the spread and urging people to continue to speak up against antisemitism.
Earlier this year, Worrel’s organization launched an effort that aims to educate, strengthen and unite the local community against antisemitism. The project, “Outshine Hate: Together Against Antisemitism,” calls on non-Jews in Charlotte to stand alongside their Jewish neighbors and speak out against harmful rhetoric.
“Outshine Hate’s programming enables people to identify and address antisemitism while also empowering our community to be proud of its Jewish identity,” Worrel stated.
The organization held a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training for local businesses and organizations in Charlotte last month, educating them on why Jews should be a part of the DEI conversation.
Worrel and Outshine Hate’s main goal is to stop the normalization of antisemitism.
For Worrel, it starts with unity.
“Stopping the spread of antisemitism means ensuring that people who hold antisemitic beliefs aren’t given a platform, so we can make it clear that it has no place in our society,” Worrel said. “Antisemitism isn’t just a Jewish problem. We need non-Jews to speak up as well to amplify our message.”
Companies respond to hate speech
In response to the remarks, Instagram and Twitter removed West’s accounts. Those accounts have since been reinstated.
West has been dropped and condemned by multiple collaborating brands, too. The well-known partnership between his brand, Yeezy, and Adidas is one of several deals that have come to an end. West claims to have lost billions of dollars within the past few weeks.
“I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I’m still alive,” West wrote in a recent Instagram post. “This is love speech, I still love you, God still loves you, The money is not who I am, The people is who I am.”
Kanye’s words ‘empower’ hate
Despite the financial loss, West has still found support among his followers. Over the weekend, antisemitic remarks in support of West appeared on the electronic video board at the TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida at the Florida-Georgia college football game.
Similar messages appeared on a banner hanging over an overpass in Jacksonville and another projected onto a building in the same city, ABC reported.
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has come under fire after he shared an Amazon listing for a documentary that contained antisemitic language that quotes Adolf Hitler.
Irving has since issued an apology, saying in a statement he “opposes all forms of hatred and oppression and is “aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community.”
Worrel believes that West’s remarks are partly to blame for a “recent uptick” in speech that poses a threat to Jewish communities everywhere.
“As we have clearly seen in the recent uptick of antisemitic incidents nationwide, the antisemitic tropes West has been spewing across social media and in interviews empower Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups to spread their messages of hate,” Worrel told the Observer.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 12:20 PM.
