I see you are once again in the headlines for the wrong reasons, facing backlash over years-old comments, for which you have already apologized. And I want to be clear: despite what Jew haters may claim, it is not “the Jews” canceling you.

You are being condemned by a culture of trend-following outrage, one in which public denunciation has become performance art and where many people treat whatever controversy is most fashionable that week as their latest moral crusade. You are being canceled by those who thought two protesters murdered in US was genocide, but tens of thousands of protesters murdered in Iran was not their business. You are being condemned by manufactured anger, for being an easy target.

As a Jew, certainly not a representative of all Jews, I will say plainly that the most troubling thing you ever said was not your threat to go “death con 3 on Jewish people”. It was your statement that “slavery was a choice,” a remark that trivialized centuries of suffering and insulted millions of black Americans, including your own community. Wearing a Klan-like outfit was worse than a swastika. So if you want to continue the apology tour, which I do not recommend, please start with your family. As you have commented, Jews think harmony within our community is important.

Your inflammatory comments about Jews struck most of us less as hardened ideological hatred and more as reckless ranting from a man publicly spiraling. It led to needed talks about mental health and sympathy for all, even bullies. While it led to more hate, it did not and does not make the list of serious concerns for our tribe. 

Despite the manufactured narrative, the Jews I know, both secular and religious, never treated your comments as an existential threat. In Israel, your music never disappeared. It kept playing in clubs, on the radio, in cars, at parties and even at synagogues. Fans wore Ye merchandise across school campuses. Your tour is guaranteed to sell out if you ever bring it to Israel, as you should.

Israel does not share the UK or US cancel culture. That means far more problematic artists still have their records on repeat throughout the state the size of New Jersey. Many “non-canceled” artists have far more troubling baggage.

MF DOOM, for example, remains beloved in Israel despite lyrics conspiratorial toward Jews. His face is found memorialized in Tel Aviv graffiti, including a mural near a central synagogue. People separate art from artist, and frankly, don’t care if someone says some mean things that aren’t serious threats. We have real threats to deal with.

Not only were your comments not uniquely unforgivable, the very people pretending they were often elevate more openly hostile figures. The artists feigning ‘antizionist not antisemite’ use you as their distraction from accusations based on more serious ideology.

Take Roger Waters, a man many Jews view as vastly more obsessive about Jews and Israel than you ever were. Waters has been accused of repeatedly invoking antisemitic tropes, and has publicly defended Hamas’ attacks as “resistance.” Yet much of the cultural press continues to treat him as a respected activist elder.

Take Bob Vylan, who led crowds in chants of “Death, death to the IDF” during live performances. Or Kneecap, whose members have faced scrutiny for statements praising Hezbollah, a country actively murdering Jewish civilians. These artists continue receiving platforms from the same people that insist your remarks were beyond redemption. That double standard is impossible to ignore.

Jews are not primarily endangered by offensive celebrity remarks. We are endangered by car rammings, missiles, home made grenades and molotovs, beach massacres. We are endangered by the constant dehumanization of Israelis.

We are endangered by Iran funding terror proxies. By Hamas massacring civilians. By Hezbollah stockpiling rockets. By NTS Radio and Mixmag glorifying October 7. By mobs in Western cities cheering on violence against Jews while pretending their criticism of Kanye West makes them immune to being labeled antisemites. 

Words alone are not equivalent to kidnappings, rockets, rape, murder, and organized campaigns of terror. You, Kanye West, never glorified the Nova Festival massacre like promoters across the UK and US, who continue to hold similar music festivals.

Many art tabloids that eagerly covered your controversies had zilch to say when Jewish music fans were massacred at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, the deadliest attack on concertgoers in modern history.

Jewish (and many Christian) traditions teach accountability, yes, but also repentance and forgiveness. We believe people can say terrible things, apologize, and improve. Our greatest concern is not every fool who says something offensive, but those who persist in hatred, incite violence, and inspire destruction. I worry about those profiting rather than apologizing for the harm they cause.

Kanye, I do not believe you are among the greatest threats facing Jews. Not close.

You have become a convenient villain for people who would rather condemn a troubled celebrity than confront the more dangerous forms of bigotry that are flourishing. You are the easy out. Your cancelation leads to more hate, not less.

You are being singled out because outrage is fashionable, especially for “near enemies.” Confronting real hatred is much harder.

Sincerely, A Jew More Concerned With Rockets Than Rappers

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)