Antisemitism has been present since long before World War II and continues into the current day. From being killed in modern-day Egypt and Israel for their religion to Christians targeting their communities during the Crusades and to attacks of synagogues in the present day, the Jewish people have seen it all. People show blatant hatred and vitriol now, especially with tensions heightened towards Jewish people due to the situation between Israel and Palestine. Still, it is now being displayed and normalized in new and concerning ways to such a shocked and scarred world.
Kanye West, rapper and Kim Kardashianâs ex-husband, has been in hot water for many years regarding his racist and antisemitic tweets, which even led to him being blocked from Instagram and Twitter in 2022 for his behavior. However, nothing has been quite as unsettling as what followed his Super Bowl advertisement, which aired specifically in LA. On the Yeezy website, there was a single shirt being sold, a plain white tee displaying a swastika, priced at $20, which is a stark contrast to the brandâs usual expensive prices.
Following major backlash, the website was quickly taken down the next day, and many other shopping sites linked to it de-platformed Westâs site. As per his public relations team and scrambling to perform damage control, West backtracked on Wednesday, Feb. 19, and proclaimed, âAfter further reflection Iâve come to the realization that Iâm not a Nazi,â which has since been deleted. But his track record makes it hard to believe that this is the end of the story. One can not help but think: how did we get here? How did he feel comfortable enough to try to profit off a hate symbol?
The answer? Increased tolerance and complacency. The Holocaust ended almost a century ago and the publicâs education around the topic is waning with many in common day believing it to be a hoax.
Neo-Nazis run rampant in the United States, as seen in cities such as Columbus, Ohio, where they marched with Nazi flags and Nashville, Tennessee, where they sang hate songs downtown. It can even be seen with major leaders in industry and government, with Elon Musk, owner of âXâ and âTesla,â giving what appeared to be a Nazi salute to thank Trump supporters before Trump made his appearance at Washington’s Capital One arena for his rally on January 20th.
To add fuel to the fire, in recent weeks, Musk has also tweeted about Nazism and vehemently supported Germanyâs far-right political party, referred to as âAfD,â due to their stance on anti-immigration. Problems began to show with this group when one of its leaders, Maximilian Krah, voiced that ânot all Nazi paramilitaries are âautomatically criminals,ââ and another leader, Bjorn Hocke, faces fines for using Nazi slogans.Â
The process of fearmongering and conditioning people to hate starts by appealing to the everyday man with simpler, more generalized ideas that seemingly empathize with their struggles and prey upon peopleâs fear of big government and losing their livelihoods. The antisemites need a scapegoat to blame their problems upon, whether that be those in charge of major industries, those involved in hiring practices and those who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this case, it is the Jewish people. By giving a name and a face to the structures causing people strife and pain, it gives the antisemites and everyman an identity to rally against.
People want and look for causes for their problems, so by giving it the name âJewsâ and pointing to these people as the sole cause for the grievances of the common man, people ignorantly join the hate mob. Once they have got people hooked, it becomes easier and easier to introduce more and more radicalized beliefs as people develop a tolerance towards the hate and eventually become part of the oppressive system itself.
It does not help that many modern-day leaders, such as those mentioned earlier, contribute to the beliefs of these groups, causing more people to turn a blind eye to the persecution of Jews. It is up to the young and strong-willed to fight this rising tide of antisemitism, continue to speak up for minorities who cannot get a voice due to the structural imbalances of the system and learn from the worldâs history to save its future.