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Jewish Groups Question Sincerity of Kanye West’s Apology to Jewish Community Over Antisemitic Comments
Kanye West, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla Sign, Teyana Taylor and Zoey Dollaz at ‘LIV on Sunday’ as part of Art Basel on Dec. 11, 2023
Photo: Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.com via Cover Media via Reuters Connect
The apology that rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, made earlier this week for his series of antisemitic comments has received mixed responses from Jewish groups, who are saying they need more than just words to believe the musician and fashion designer
On Tuesday, the Grammy winner and Yeezy designer uploaded a Hebrew-language message on Instagram addressed to the Jewish community.
“I sincerely apologize for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” wrote the 46-year-old. “I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.”
The apology was published shortly before Ye releases his new album, Vultures, on Jan. 12. In one of the songs on the upcoming album, he raps: “How I’m antisemitic? I just f**ked a Jewish b*tch.” Earlier this month, the Flashing Lights rapper went on an antisemitic rant at an album listening party in Las Vegas.
The rapper came under fire late last year after making a number of antisemitic remarks, sharing antisemitic tropes on social media, promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes, saying “I like Hitler,” and urging people to “stop dissing the Nazis.” Because of his comments targeting the Jewish community, he lost his Yeezy partnership with Adidas, as well as his partnerships with a number of other brands.
The Anti-Defamation League welcomed Ye’s apology this week but added that they hope to see his words backed by actions.
“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 ADL said in a released statement. “Ultimately, actions will speak louder than words but this initial act of contrition is welcome.”
The ADL revealed in its audit of antisemitic incidents in 2022 that Ye was directly referenced in 59 antisemitic cases tracked by the group from October through the end of that year, including 44 cases of harassment, 13 cases of vandalism and two cases of assault.
The American Jewish Committee criticized Ye for issuing the apology in Hebrew, saying that the rapper “intentionally” denied American Jews and non-Jews who don’t know Hebrew from being able to understand his apology.
The nonprofit organization StopAntisemitism said it wants to know what additional steps Ye is taking to make amends for offending the Jewish community with his past remarks. “Will he be deleting his vulgar lyrics referring to having sex with a Jewish woman? Has he committed to any mental health programs to prevent further antisemitic outbursts to his millions of followers?” the organization asked. It also wanted to know why the apology was in Hebrew.
Israeli activist Noa Tishby did not buy the apology at all and had some choice words for the rapper. In a video shared on social media on Wednesday, Tishby told Ye in Hebrew, “just shut up.”
“We don’t need your apology,” she further said in English. “We don’t want you to say anything. We don’t need you to speak about us at all. Every time you talk about the Jewish people, something bad happens. We basically need you and people like you, who know nothing about Israel or the Jewish people, to shut up. That’s it.”
The post Jewish Groups Question Sincerity of Kanye West’s Apology to Jewish Community Over Antisemitic Comments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Smotrich Says Defense Ministry to Spur Voluntary Emigration from Gaza
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
i24 News – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday that the government would establish an administration to encourage the voluntary migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“We are establishing a migration administration, we are preparing for this under the leadership of the Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and Defense Minister [Israel Katz],” he said at a Land of Israel Caucus at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. “The budget will not be an obstacle.”
Referring to the plan championed by US President Donald Trump, Smotrich noted the “profound and deep hatred towards Israel” in Gaza, adding that “sources in the American government” agreed “that it’s impossible for two million people with hatred towards Israel to remain at a stone’s throw from the border.”
The administration would be under the Defense Ministry, with the goal of facilitating Trump’s plan to build a “Riviera of the Middle East” and the relocation of hundreds of thousands of Gazans for rebuilding efforts.
“If we remove 5,000 a day, it will take a year,” Smotrich said. “The logistics are complex because you need to know who is going to which country. It’s a potential for historical change.”
The post Smotrich Says Defense Ministry to Spur Voluntary Emigration from Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Defense Ministry: 16,000 Wounded in War, About Half Under 30
A general view shows the plenum at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – The Knesset’s (Israeli parliament’s) Special Committee for Foreign Workers held a discussion on Sunday to examine the needs of wounded and disabled IDF soldiers and the response foreign caregivers could provide.
During the discussion, data from the Defense Minister revealed that the number of registered IDF wounded and disabled veterans rose from 62,000 to 78,000 since the war began on October 7, 2023. “Most of them are reservists and 51 percent of the wounded are up to 30 years old,” the ministry’s report said. The number will increase, the ministry assesses, as post-trauma cases emerge.
The committee chairwoman, Knesset member Etty Atiya (Likud), emphasized the need to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for the wounded and to remove obstacles. “There is no dispute that the IDF disabled have sacrificed their bodies and souls for the people of Israel, for the state of Israel,” she said. Addressing the veterans, she continued: “And we, as public representatives and public servants alike, must do everything, but everything, to improve your lives in any way possible, to alleviate your pain and the distress of your family members who are no less affected than you.”
Currently, extensions are being given to the IDF veterans on a three-month basis, which Atiya said creates uncertainty and fear among the patients.
“The committee calls on the Interior Minister [Moshe Arbel] to approve as soon as possible the temporary order on our table, so that it will reach the approval of the Knesset,” she said, adding that she “intends to personally approach the Director General of the Population Authority [Shlomo Mor-Yosef] on the matter in order to promote a quick and stable solution.”
The post Defense Ministry: 16,000 Wounded in War, About Half Under 30 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Over 1,300 Killed in Syria as New Regime Accused of Massacring Civilians
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Sky News Arabia in Damascus, Syria in this handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on August 8, 2023. Syrian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Over 1,300 people were killed in two days of fighting in Syria between security forces under the new Syrian Islamist leaders and fighters from ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite sect on the other hand, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Sunday.
Since Thursday, 1,311 people had been killed, according to the Observatory, including 830 civilians, mainly Alawites, 231 Syrian government security personnel, and 250 Assad loyalists.
The intense fighting broke out late last week as the Alawite militias launched an offensive against the new government’s fighters in the coastal region of the country, prompting a massive deployment ordered by new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“We must preserve national unity and civil peace as much as possible and… we will be able to live together in this country,” al-Sharaa said, as quoted in the BBC.
The death toll represents the most severe escalations since Assad was ousted late last year, and is one of the most costly in terms of human lives since the civil war began in 2011.
The counter-offensive launched by al-Sharaa’s forces was marked by reported revenge killings and atrocities in the Latakia region, a stronghold of the Alawite minority in the country.
The post Over 1,300 Killed in Syria as New Regime Accused of Massacring Civilians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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