Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, did more than just derail his own career when he began last year to publicly proclaim his love for the leader of Nazi Germany and hatred of Jews that he claimed had wronged him — he appeared to inspire dozens of antisemitic incidents across the United States, according to a report released Thursday, including a physical attack by a perpetrator who yelled, "Kanye 2024!"
Beginning last October, Ye gave a string of interviews in which he espoused rank bigotry, including an appearance with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in which he declared: "I like Hitler." He also sparked outrage when he brought white nationalist provocateur Nick Fuentes with him to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Donald Trump — a meeting that came roughly a month after he was dropped by Adidas over his "unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous" comments.
The celebrity endorsement of antisemitism was followed by a
spree of hate by emboldened bigots, according to the Anti-Defamation League,
which counted no fewer than 59 incidents in the last three months of 2022 in
which bigots directly referenced Ye, including two assaults. At least 10
incidents of harassment or antisemitic vandalism occurred in schools across
the country that referenced Ye's remarks; in Los Angeles, neo-Nazis dropped
a banner on a highway overpass declaring, "Kanye was right about the jews";
and at a Jewish cemetery in Illinois, gravestones were desecrated with
swastikas and the words, "Kanye was rite."
The incidents have
continued through this year, with white supremacists setting up booths on
college campuses in Florida and Alabama with a banner that read: "Ye is
right, change my mind."
Attorneys representing Kanye West did not
immediately return Insider's requests for comment.
Overall, ADL
researchers found there was a 36% spike in antisemitic incidents in 2022
compared to the year before, with the ADL tracking just under 3,700 cases
across the country, the highest on record. That number includes more 111
assaults on Jews and people perceived to be Jewish, up 26% from 2021; just
under 1,300 acts of vandalism, including the drawing of swastikas on or near
synagogues, up 51%; and nearly 2,300 incidents of harassment, up 29%.
"We're deeply disturbed by this dramatic and completely
unacceptable surge in antisemitic incidents," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt
said in a statement. "While we can't point to any single factor or ideology
driving this increase, the surges in organized white supremacist propaganda
activity, brazen attacks on Orthodox Jews, a rapid escalation of bomb
threats toward Jewish institutions, and significant increases of incidents
in schools and on college campuses all contributed to the unusually high
number."
The ADL said there was an especially large increase in
organizing by avowed white supremacists, with the organization counting more
than 850 incidents of racist extremists distributing antisemitic propaganda,
double the year before.
The ADL report comes after the FBI last year said that white
supremacists "pose the primary threat" of domestic terrorism. The Armed
Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which tracks far-right activity,
also found a dramatic increase last year in extremist organizing, with white
supremacist groups increasingly targeting those perceived to be members of
the LGBTQ community.
