This time last year, social media was in a frenzy following Kanye West’s antisemitic tirades that saw him banned from social media and scrambling to buy the free speech app, Parler. However, Jewish NGO the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) has recently responded to West’s multiple apologies since then.
In a recent Twitter/X post, the organization wrote, “After causing untold damage by using his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with vicious antisemitism and hate, an apology in Hebrew may be the first step on a long journey towards making amends to the Jewish community and all those who he has hurt.”
The post continued, “Ultimately, actions will speak louder than words, but this initial act of contrition is welcome.” Kanye’s recent Instagram post was made in Hebrew, and saw him express a lot of remorse for his actions.
The post read, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions. It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.”
In his apology, posted to Instagram on December 26th, the emcee and producer stated he is “committed to making amends” with the Jewish community. However, it was not received well by all.
The Jewish radio host and personality Peter Rosenberg of HOT 97.0 commented on Kanye’s apology, writing, “Should I not mention that typing this apology in Hebrew in and of itself is still sort of oddly antisemitic? I guess not .. let’s roll with it, lol.”
Although Kanye has overtly made an apology to the Jewish community, at a recent listening party, the rapper and producer was caught ranting, and, to the surprise of many, he made reference to “Zionism.” Fortunately, this seems to have gone under the radar concerning the ADL.