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Kanye West Posts Social Media Apology to ‘Jewish Community’ in Hebrew After Antisemitic Outbursts
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Photo: BANG Showbiz via Reuters Connect
Kanye West on Tuesday issued an apology in Hebrew to the “Jewish community” for “any unintended outburst” after the rapper and fashion designer came under fire for a series of antisemitic comments.
“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 disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” West posted on Instagram to his more than 18 million followers on the social media platform.
“I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future,” added West, who now legally goes by the name Ye. “Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.”
The post, written entirely in Hebrew on a white background, was published in the early hours of Tuesday morning after Christmas Day.
While West, 46, did not reference any specific incidents, his apology followed a wave of antisemitic tirades that earned him widespread backlash.
Most recently, the All of the Lights rapper went on an antisemitic rant at an album launch event in Las Vegas earlier this month.
“It’s 60 million of us in America, 60 million Jews in the world,” West falsely claimed in a video obtained by TMZ. “Who’s going to make the hospitals, though? He’s a Zionist, [inaudible]. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye, third party, sponsor that.”
Weeks earlier, West was seen at a party in Dubai dancing and singing along to his new controversial song Vultures, in which he raps, “How I’m antisemitic? I just f—ked a Jewish b—ch.”
West was accused of being antisemitic late last year starting in October, after he made a series of comments targeting Jews. He posted on X/Twitter that he wanted to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE [sic],” referring to the US military’s DEFCON system for rating how alert the armed forces should be at a given moment in the face of a threat.
In an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, West said, “I see good things about Hitler … Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
Doubling down later in the interview, the rapper added “I like Hitler” and said people should “stop dissing the Nazis.” He went on to compare himself to Jews hiding in the Holocaust, saying, “There are Jewish people basically hiding me under their floorboards right now. It’s like a reverse version of the Holocaust.”
As a result of the torrent of antisemitic remarks, West lost his Yeezy partnership with Adidas, as well as his partnerships with a number of other brands. Gap, Balenciago, and JP Morgan were among those to also end their relationships with him at the time.
Tuesday’s Instagram post was not the first time that West seemingly tried to make amends with the Jewish people. In March, he wrote a now-deleted post saying that watching the movie 21 Jump Street, which features Jewish actor Jonah Hill, “made me like Jewish people again.”
He added that “no one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that hatred towards millions of innocent people.”
West did not add context to his Tuesday post, which came during the ongoing Gaza war, launched by the Hamas terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. The Israeli government has compared Hamas to the Nazis.
The post Kanye West Posts Social Media Apology to ‘Jewish Community’ in Hebrew After Antisemitic Outbursts first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears
The Telegram logo is seen on a screen of a smartphone in this picture illustration taken April 13, 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin.
Authorities in two Russian regions have blocked the Telegram messenger because of concerns that the app could be used by enemies, a regional digital development minister was quoted as saying by the TASS state news agency on Saturday.
Dagestan and Chechnya are mainly Muslim regions in southern Russia where intelligence services have registered an increase in militant Islamist activity.
“It (Telegram) is often used by enemies, an example of which is the riots at the Makhachkala airport,” said Yuri Gamzatov, Dagestan’s digital development minister, adding that the decision to block the messenger had been made at the federal level.
Gamzatov was referring to an anti-Israel riot in Dagestan in October 2023, when hundreds of protesters stormed an airport to try to attack passengers arriving on a plane from the Jewish state. No passengers were injured, and authorities have prosecuted several people over the incident.
News of the plane’s arrival had spread on local Telegram channels, where users posted calls for antisemitic violence. Telegram condemned the attack and said it would block the channels.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the blocks in Russia.
Based in Dubai and founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, the messenger has nearly 1 billion users and is used widely in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics.
Moscow tried but failed to block Telegram in 2018 and has in the past demanded the platform hand over user data. Durov is under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organized crime on the app.
Gamzatov, the minister in Dagestan, said Telegram could be unblocked in the future, but encouraged users to switch to other messengers in the meantime.
The post Two Russian Regions Block Telegram App Over Security Fears first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti
US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House, in Washington, DC, Feb. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with a protest group claiming responsibility.
Local media on Saturday showed images of red paint scrawled across walls at the course with the slogans “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” as well as insults against Trump.
“Gaza is not for sale” was also painted on one of the greens and holes dug up on the course.
Palestine Action said it caused the damage, posting on social media platform X: “Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach.”
Last month, Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its over 2-million Palestinian population and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Police Scotland said it was investigating.
“Around 4.40am on Saturday, 8 March, 2025, we received a report of damage to the golf course and a premises on Maidens Road, Turnberry,” a Police Scotland spokesperson said, adding that enquiries were ongoing.
Separately on Saturday, a man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Big Ben tower at London’s Palace of Westminster.
The post Trump’s Scottish Golf Resort Vandalized with Pro-Palestine Graffiti first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled
A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, US, April 30, 2024. Photo: Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS
Columbia University’s interim president said the school is working to address the “legitimate concerns” of US President Donald Trump’s administration after $400 million of federal government grants and contracts to the university were canceled over allegations of antisemitism on campus.
In an announcement on Friday, the government cited what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school’s New York City campus as the reason for pulling the funding. The university has repeatedly been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza.
“I want to assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns,” Katrina Armstrong, the university’s interim president, said in a late-night message to alumni on Friday. “To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combating antisemitism on our campus.”
The Trump administration said the canceled funding is only a portion of the $5 billion in government grants that has been committed to the school, but the school is bracing for a financial hit.
“There is no question that the cancellation of these funds will immediately impact research and other critical functions of the University, impacting students, faculty, staff, research, and patient care,” Armstrong said.
Federal funding accounted for about $1.3 billion of the university’s $6.6 billion in operating revenue in the 2024 fiscal year, according to a Columbia financial report.
Some Jewish students and staff have been among the pro-Palestinian protesters, and they say their criticism of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. Minouche Shafik resigned last year as Columbia’s president after the university’s handling of the protests drew criticism from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.
The administration has declined to say what contracts and grants it has canceled, but the Education Department argues the demonstrations have been unlawful and deprive Jewish students of learning opportunities.
Civil rights groups say the immediate cuts are unconstitutional punishment for protected speech and likely to face legal challenges.
The post Columbia University Promises to Address Trump Administration’s Concerns After $400 Million in Funding Pulled first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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