Cresskill students react to Kanye West’s anti-Semitic claims

In addition to his long history of scandalous and controversial conduct, American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer Kanye West has recently made several anti-Semitic allegations. On October 8, 2022, Kanye, also referred to as Ye, tweeted:

This comment alludes to the US defense readiness condition scale, also known as DEFCON. Kanye West was referring to DEFCON, 3 which means a force readiness increased above normal levels. 

As a result, West received immense amounts of backlash. Both Instagram and Twitter have suspended Ye’s accounts. However, after almost 3 weeks it seemed that Kanye gained access to his Instagram account once more. Balenciaga, Adidas, Gap, Foot Locker, TJ Maxx, and many more companies have dropped Ye West. 

Following Adidas’ actions to sever all and any ties they had with Kanye, it seems he has a lot to say. In one of his now-deleted Instagram posts, he writes in the caption, “F*** ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS R*PED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.” On October 27, Ye shared with the public that he “lost 2 billion dollars in one day” in his first Instagram post after his account had been under suspension. He ends the post by stating, “the money is not who I am, the people is who I am.”

This however isn’t close to being the first anti-Semitic notion that West has made known to the public. His anti-Semitic history dates back to 2013, almost a full decade ago. He has made numerous odd and disturbing comments towards Jews, most of which have contributed to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories which revolve around Jews’ obsession with money. He also has quite a long history of his own obsession with Hitler. Former coworkers and employees of West have come out by saying that Kayne’s album ‘Ye’ which was released to the public in 2018 was originally supposed to be named ‘Hitler’ per his request. Van Lathan Jr., a former employer of TMZ stated that in an interview with TMZ in 2018, Kayne West had said something along the lines of  “I Love Hitler, I love Nazis.” 

Unfortunately, it appears that some are already influenced by Ye’s words and a rise in antisemitism are a possibility in the near future. A group of extremists hung multiple banners over a Los Angeles freeway. One of those banners stated, “Kanye is right about the Jews.” Some of the individuals who had hung the signs had raised their arms to mimic the Nazi Salute. An image of anti-Semitic propaganda has gained a lot of attention on social media platforms. 

We decided to ask Cresskill High school students what they felt about the topic and we received various answers. 

When asked how she felt about the situation, Noa Halabi, a Jewish freshman, claims that she is pissed off,  “because people aren’t taking it seriously and joke about it.” Another Jewish freshman, Yuval Hanuka added, “it is very upsetting because it has become funny to people.” However, both have stated that his actions are yet to make them feel threatened. Noa Halabi expresses, “yeah on some level I have to be because it’s part of who I am but at the same time because of how big the Jewish community is in our area I don’t feel unsafe.” 

Yarden Elisha, a Jewish sophomore, had a lot to say: “It’s very upsetting that people such as him get such a big platform. Due to Kanye’s popularity and status, his words are influencing a lot of people to support his anti-Semitic beliefs.” She continues to argue that, “it’s a little bit ignorant to support someone even though they’re saying something offensive to that extent. And I believe you can’t support someone without supporting their beliefs.” 

However, Noa Halabi brings up an interesting point. She states that “there is a difference between supporting the person itself and his music. There is a big separation between the two. Just because one might enjoy Kanye’s music doesn’t necessarily mean that they support his anti-Semitic views.”

Some students at CHS seem to see things from a contrasting perspective. When one student was questioned about how they felt regarding the ongoing predicament with Kanye West, they were a lot more light-hearted about it than the previously interviewed students. With that student not being Jewish, they aren’t targeted by Ye’s words. When asked how they felt about Kanye as a person, they responded by saying, “I like him because he is smart.” They went as far as referring to him as a “marketing genius” for his actions. 

Julia Couch, another student who isn’t Jewish, is able to sympathize with Jewish students: “I used to like his music but now I don’t think that he should have a platform as he is using it to spread hate.” 

What do you think? Are you still a fan of Kanye or are his songs getting removed from your playlist? Do you think people like Ye West should have an audience and that freedom of speech is a human right? Or do you think Kanye has gone too far this time?