Liverpool’s Jewish community has spoken out after Kanye West’s latest anti-Semitic outburst.
The 45-year-old American rapper has been branded "abhorrent" after admitting he “sees good things about Hitler” during an interview with right-wing radio host Alex Jones on Infowars. The father-of-four didn't stop there as throughout the interview, Kanye, known legally as Ye, said he “likes” the Nazi leader before going on to repeatedly make comments praising the dictator, as reported by the Mirror.
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Liverpool-born playwright Karen Kennedy, who has been on the receiving end of anti-Semitic abuse both as a child and an adult, said there was no justification for either Kanye’s comments or Hitler’s actions. She pointed out how it is “particularly sad” these comments came from a celebrity who “most likely” has faced some form of racial hatred or abuse because of his skin colour.
She told the ECHO : “History has shown us with Hitler and now with Putin that one person can contaminate many innocent people with their warped point of view about people, particularly minority groups and sadly history does repeat itself and not in a positive way.
“I have written true life stories about Jewish people whose families were wiped out during the Holocaust by Hitler and the Nazi Third Reich Regime. Their lives were stolen and eradicated because of their Jewish faith or Jewish ancestry. How could anybody forgive a person who was responsible for millions of deaths - not just Jewish people, but anyone who did not fit the 'Aryan profile'.
"People who are bigoted generally do not listen to other peoples' points of view but to acknowledge their racially abusive behaviour and discrimination only adds fuel to an already virulent fire."
After receiving backlash, rapper Akon came to Kanye’s defence in an interview with Sky. The Lonely hitmaker said he “shows support for opinion” and explained how he believes “we should open up our minds and let things play all the way out and better understand the situation."
However, members of Liverpool’s Jewish Society disagree especially when anti-Semitism is coming from an influencer that has “double the following of the global Jewish population”.
A spokesperson for the group said: “When members of the Liverpool JSOC initially heard Kanye’s antisemitic remarks, they felt concerned, to say the least. Kanye has an incredibly large and loyal following which means that he has a further reach than the Jewish voices trying to combat anti-Semitism.
“For a person to suggest that Jews or anyone for that matter should ‘forgive Hitler’ is completely abhorrent. Kanye’s comments are a product of hatred for Jews which unfortunately persists in every corner of the world.
“Jews should be the centre of discussing anti-Semitism. We need to allow Jews the freedom to live as Jews without fear of harassment. To do this anti-Semitism must be called out wherever it appears.
“The overwhelming majority of the society, regardless of how immersed they might be in Jewish life, have experienced both isolated anti-Semitic incidents or repeated and targeted harassment. Any open display of Jewish faith and culture which should be a joyous time is often overshadowed by fears of antisemitic attacks.
Kanye’s latest comments are that of a long list. His previous attack on the Jewish community saw him temporarily banned from Twitter.
As well as the social media ban, Kanye was been dropped by a number of big brands, including Adidas, something which has cost him his billionaire status.
Chayim, a Jewish officer worker from Widnes, said he "let out a sigh of dismay" when he heard the interview and was shocked by the comments made as he himself has heard Holocaust jokes "made in very poor taste".
He told the ECHO: "I am by nature quite a forgiving person. I like to think that reconciliation is the best medicine in the best of cases, but the idea of forgiving Adolf Hitler for the crimes he commanded seems so out of touch with the reality of the situation. Forgiveness cannot be given out like sweets, it has to be earned.
"And for a man who rather committed suicide than face the consequences of his actions towards the Jewish and Romani nations, and several other groups like LGBTQ+ persons, and political opponents, that tells me that Hitler was and never will be ready to be forgiven.
"He has sealed his fate as a common villain. We can look into his past and see what could have caused him to hold such negative views of Jews and use that to better educate our future generations on hatred and why it should be stamped out, but forgiving Adolf Hitler himself is completely out of question."
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