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Adidas says it will sell off Yeezy shoes and donate proceeds to those ‘hurt by Kanye’s statements’
(JTA) – The sportswear giant Adidas has decided to sell off its remaining inventory of sneakers from Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and donate the proceeds to charity.
The decision comes roughly seven months after Adidas cut ties with West in the face of mounting pressure due to his stream of antisemitic comments. Adidas’ sales of the rapper’s sneakers had accounted for 10% of the company’s annual revenue last year, or roughly $2 billion. That decision left Adidas with $1.3 billion of unsold Yeezy inventory in its possession.
During the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Thursday in Germany, where Adidas is based, CEO Bjørn Gulden pledged that the money would go “to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements.”
Gulden did not elaborate on which organizations the proceeds would be directed to, nor if any of them would go to Jewish or anti-hate groups. In response to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for comment, Adidas shared Gulden’s comments from the board meeting but did not say which charities it would be donating Yeezy sales to.
Jews were the target of West’s comments last fall. West, who now goes by Ye, promised to “go death con 3 on Jewish people,” professed admiration for Hitler and bragged that he could say antisemitic comments and Adidas would not drop him. In November, the rapper dined with former President Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes, a prominent antisemite, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Following his comments, statements such as “Kanye Was Right” became a rallying cry for antisemites. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 59 antisemitic incidents that took place from October 11 through the end of 2022 directly referenced West.
Shortly after dropping West, Adidas — which was founded by Nazi Party members — announced a $1 million, four-year partnership with the ADL designed to educate athletes about antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.
The ADL praised Adidas’ plans but told JTA that the company hasn’t said if the ADL will receive a donation from the Yeezy sales. The organization added that it was not advising Adidas on where to direct the sale proceeds.
“This is a thoughtful and caring resolution for the unsold merchandise,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Ye’s antisemitic remarks and abhorrent behavior have resulted in real-world acts of antisemitic hate. Any attempt to turn the consequences of his actions into something that ultimately benefits society and the people he has hurt is most welcome.”
Adidas had agonized for months over how to deal with the Yeezy merchandise, at one point considering simply burning it. That idea was nixed by Gulden on Thursday. “Burning is not the solution,” he told shareholders.
But the company’s Yeezy woes aren’t over yet. Adidas still faces a lawsuit from investors who allege executives knew about West’s “extreme behavior” for years and didn’t end their partnership quickly enough. Last year, amid West’s antisemitic comments, reports emerged that West had openly admired Hitler for years and wanted to name one of his albums after him.
As for West himself, he recently announced that he no longer hated Jewish people after watching Jewish actor Jonah Hill in the 2012 comedy film “21 Jump Street.”
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The post Adidas says it will sell off Yeezy shoes and donate proceeds to those ‘hurt by Kanye’s statements’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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VIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press
די ייִדיש־ליגע האָט לעצטנס אַרויפֿגעשטעלט אַ ווידעאָ, וווּ די היסטאָריקערין וויווי לאַקס דערציילט וועגן דער אַמאָליקער ייִדישער פּרעסע אין לאָנדאָן.
צווישן 1884 און 1954 האָט די לאָנדאָנער פּרעסע אַרויסגעגעבן הונדערטער פֿעליעטאָנען פֿון אָרטיקע שרײַבערס וועגן אָרטיקן ייִדישן לעבן.
די קורצע דערציילונגען זענען סאַטיריש, קאָמיש און רירנדיק, אויף טשיקאַווע טעמעס ווי למשל קאַמפֿן אין דער היים צווישן די מינים; פּאָליטיק אין די קאַפֿעען, און ספֿרי־תּורה אויף די גאַסן. די דערציילונגען האָבן געשריבן סײַ גוט באַקאַנטע שרײַבער (למשל, מאָריס ווינטשעווסקי, יוסף־חיים ברענער און אסתּר קרייטמאַן), סײַ היפּש ווייניקער באַקאַנטע.
שבֿע צוקער, די ייִדיש־לערערין און מחבר פֿון אַ ייִדישן לערנבוך, פֿירט דעם שמועס מיט וויווי לאַקס. זיי וועלן פֿאָרלייענען אַ טייל פֿון די פֿעליעטאָנען אויף ענגליש און ייִדיש, און אַרומרעדן די טעמעס וואָס די פּרעסע האָט אַרויסגעהויבן.
וויווי לאַקס איז אַ היסטאָריקערין פֿון לאָנדאָנס ייִדישן „איסט־ענד“, ווי אויך אַן איבערזעצער און זינגערין. זי איז די מחברטע פֿון Whitechapel Noise און London Yiddishtown, ווי אויך אַקאַדעמישע און פּאָפּולערע אַרטיקלען. זי איז אַ קולטור־טוערין אין לאָנדאָן און האָט מיטאָרגאַניזירט סײַ דעם גרויסן ייִדישן פּאַראַד, סײַ דעם Yiddish Café Trust. זי זינגט פּאָפּולערע לידער אויפֿן „קאָקני־ייִדיש“ מיט די גרופּעס קלעזמער־קלאָב און קאַטשאַנעס, און פֿירט שפּאַצירטורן איבער דעם „איסט־ענד“.
The post VIDEO: Historian Vivi Laks tells history of the London Yiddish Press appeared first on The Forward.
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Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’
It’s not every day that a kosher dill pickle puppet gets a chance to learn some Yiddish.
Monty Pickle, star of the children’s series The Monty Pickle Show, recently joined Rukhl Schaechter, host of the Forward’s YouTube series Yiddish Word of the Day, for an episode teaching viewers the Yiddish words for various wild animals.
Or as they’re called in Yiddish: vilde khayes.
The Monty Pickle Show, a puppet comedy on YouTube and TikTok, aims to show young viewers what it means to be Jewish in a fun, lively way. The series was created by the Emmy Award-winning producers of Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock.
So far, he’s met a number of Jewish personalities, including rabbis, musicians and chefs, and explored holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah and Passover.
Sitting alongside Rukhl during the lesson, Monty eagerly tries to guess what each word means, providing for some very funny moments.
The post Puppet Monty Pickle is guest on the Forward’s ‘Yiddish Word of the Day’ appeared first on The Forward.
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IDF Nabs Islamic State Terror Suspect in Syria
Guns seized in the course of the operation. Photo: IDF Spokesperson via i24
i24 News – Israel Defense Forces soldiers conducted an operation on Wednesday in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terrorist affiliated with ISIS, the military spokesperson said on Saturday.
The announcement comes as Washington announced a major operation to eliminated Islamic State terrorists in Syria after three Americans lost their lives in a jihadist attack in Palmyra.
The Israeli soldiers completed the operation in Syria “in cooperation with IDF intelligence,” the statement read, adding that “the suspect was transferred for further processing in Israeli territory.”
Additionally, during the operation, weapons were found and seized.
IDF troops “continue to remain deployed along the Golan Heights border in order to protect the State of Israel and its citizens,” the statement from the spokesperson concluded.