WhatsappWith all the headline news about Kanye West’s recent comments and tweets that parroted antisemitic tropes, little attention was placed on his surprising comment on why he is jealous of the Jewish people. (You can watch the full interview at the bottom of this article)
Honestly, how are we supposed to understand his jealousy of the Jewish people with all of the horrible antisemitic tropes he has said as well?
Is Kanye saying everything he is saying because he hates Jews and wishes us all harm? Well, I personally don’t think so. He publicly says that he is jealous of Jews, like in the video above, and in another hardly-seen video, he states that he does not wish harm on Jewish people.
So what is going on?
Regrardless, it is scary to see the growth of Jew-hatred as a result of Kanye’s comments lately, and this is just the beginning.
When one actually listens to Kanye’s full interviews it is clear that he believes that the Jewish people he knows in Hollywood, the entertainment industry and the lawyers, are all to blame for destroying the values within the African-American community. At the same time, he talks about being jealous of the values and life of Torah Jews.
I believe Kanye is very wrong to talk about the Jews he knows in Hollywood and through his business dealings as if they represent all Jews. And he does not understand that by talking about them as if they represent all Jews, it feeds the horrible rumor mill that the “evil Jews/Zionists and Israel” secretly rule the world, leading to many more people hating all Jews/Zionists and Israel.
The absurdity of such a claim screams to high heavens, since those same Hollywood, entertainment execs and lawyers are not just harming the African-American community , but harming the Jewish community as well by pushing the destructive values they do in American culture.
In addition, Kanye does not understand that the Jews he knows do not represent authentic Jews or Jewish values. They might be born Jews, or consider themselves cultural Jews, or just have Jewish names, but other than that they have no connection to authentic Torah Judaism, Jewish nationhood or the Jewish state of Israel.
Regardless, the damage of his comments has been done and, unfortunately, can’t be undone.
How Should Jews Respond?
With Jew-hating antisemitism growing by leaps and bounds each day, I see more and more posts about “fighting antisemitism”. Either by canceling the people, trying to educate them, inviting them to Holocaust museums etc.
But none of that will end Jew-hating antisemitism.
Nothing will end Jew-hating antisemitism.
Jew-hatred is the oldest hatred in the world, it has always been around and it is never going away. It comes in waves throughout history.
Our focus should not be on fighting it, it should be on growing our Jewish pride, our Jewish identity, and our eternal connection to our homeland, to live in our homeland. Those are the pieces of our heavenly armor that then protects us as a people from the hatred that surrounds us. No, it won’t stop the haters or the hatred, but it will empower more Jews to be more focused on living fulfilling Jewish lives with the ultimate purpose of being a heavenly people, striving to live in our homeland to maximize our lives as Jews, and as the Jewish people.
It is also extremely important to point out that our enemies do not differentiate us Jews based on our level of observance. To them, a self-hating Jew who hates Israel is a target for their hatred the same as a proud religious Judean settler Jew like myself.
It’s time for all Jews to strengthen their Jewish identity, their Torah learning and grow a true appreciation for their 3,000+ year culture, traditions and homeland.
They should do this not in order to fight and end the Jew-hating antisemitism, which never ends, but for themselves! At least they should strengthen their true Jewish identity, that they are ignorant about, that our haters hate them for.
You can watch the full interview below:
