Kanye West's Antisemitism Is Dangerous If Left Unchecked, Holocaust Museum Warns

SKOKIE, IL — Antisemitic statements by Kanye West pose a danger if left unchecked, officials at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center warned, noting that fringe hate groups have already begun to seize on the Chicago native's anti-Jewish rhetoric.

After the musical artist, fashion designer and former presidential candidate, now legally known as Ye, declared to his millions of social media followers earlier this month that he would was “going death con 3" on Jewish people and made a series of antisemitic remarks in interviews, most of his corporate partners have cut ties with him.

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But some groups have done the opposite — white supremacists and racial identity extremists have endorsed Ye's antisemitism.

Last weekend, a group of people led by Jon Minadeo Jr. that has been hanging antisemitic banners from Los Angeles freeway overpasses in recent years endorsed Ye's hate speech with a sign reading, "Kanye was right about the Jews." Members of the group were pictured making Nazi salutes.

"By linking their project to West’s recent racist outburst on social media regarding the Jewish people, they are using his fame and cultural cache to advance their own outrageous and unacceptable claims," museum officials said in a statement.

Residents of communities across the north suburbs have reported finding plastic bags weighed down with sand or rice containing antisemitic materials with links to Minadeo's websites.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, his Goyim Defense League group has distributed its propaganda dozens of times in 17 states so far this year.

Leaders of the Nation of Islam and extremist Black Hebrew Israelite sects have also praised Ye's antisemitic remarks, according to the ADL. And several prominent white supremacists have used their online platforms to endorse Ye.

Holocaust museum representatives emphasized the importance of standing up to hate, comparing the situation to the attempted Nazi marches in Skokie in 1977 and 1978.

"Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center was built by Survivors who stood up when signs and messages just like Minadeo’s were brought to Skokie, Illinois," officials said. "Our founders knew firsthand that when the powerful shared such messages, it gave approval to those waiting for an excuse to commit violence and discrimination. Hatred was accelerated. We must not let it do so again."

Museum officials shared their confronting hate toolkit with tools and resources for educators, students and parents.

Jews have been the most frequent target of hate crimes reported to Chicago's Commission on Human Relations so far this year.

There were a total of 77 incidents reported to the commission through Oct. 18, up 71 percent from the same period last year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jewish people were targeted 18 times, Black people were targeted 16 times, white people were targets 12 times, the LGBTQ community was targeted nine times, Asian people and biracial people were each targets five times, Arab people were targeted three times and a Catholic person once.

Not all incidents classified as hate crimes by police are reported to the commission. Chicago police received 120 hate crime reports during the first 10 months of the year, the Sun-Times reported.

Last year, there were a total of 209 antisemitic incidents in all of Illinois, according to the ADL.

Since Adidas terminated its partnership with Ye on Tuesday, the net worth of the man formerly known as Kanye West has declined to $400 million from a previous high of more than $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.

On Thursday, Ye's unaccredited private school in Simi Valley, California, shut down abruptly "at the discretion of our Founder." Families of the nearly 100 students enrolled in the $15,000-a-year Christian academy were given a day's notice that the school would shut down until next September.

"Words matter — but who says those words, and where, can catalyze previously unspoken hatreds and prejudices into dog whistles and calls to action," Holocaust museum officials said. "We have seen this repeatedly when antisemitic tropes and language are bandied about by the rich and famous, and we see it once again with Kanye West."