(Trends Wide) — Los Angeles officials condemned the display of banners from a freeway overpass this weekend by a group of protesters who were photographed. The photos show their support for recent anti-Semitic comments made by rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye.
West has recently made a number of antisemitic attacks, most notably on October 8, when he tweeted that he was going to do “a death with 3 [sic] in the JEWISH PEOPLE,” and also that, “you guys have played me and tried to block anyone who opposes your agenda,” without specifying which group he was targeting, according to Internet Archive Wayback Machine records excerpted by Trends Wide. .
His tweet has since been deleted and Twitter has banned his account.
In an interview after the controversial tweet, West told Piers Morgan that he was sorry to the people he hurt, though he also said he didn’t regret making the comment.
A photo shared on the verified Twitter account of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Karen Bass’s campaign shows a group of protesters holding signs showing their support for rapper Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic comments on a Los Angeles overpass. the Los Angeles Freeway on October 22. Trends Wide has blurred a part of the image that included a reference to a website with anti-Semitic content. (Photo: Karen Bass/@KarenBassLA)
Photos taken on Saturday show a small group of protesters with their arms raised in what appears to be the Nazi salute behind banners that read “honk if you know” and others that read “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
This Sunday, the district attorney of Los Angeles, George Gascón, criticized the incident on Twitter saying: “We cannot tolerate the #anti-Semitism that was on display today [sábado] on a Los Angeles freeway. #WhiteSupremacy is a social cancer that must be extirpated. This message is dangerous and cannot be normalized. I stand with the Jewish community in condemning this disgusting behavior.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti He also took to Twitter and said: “We condemn the anti-Semitic incidents this weekend. Jewish Angelenos should always feel safe. There is no place for discrimination or prejudice in Los Angeles. And we will never back down from the fight to expose and remove it.”
Aggressions against Jews in the US increase.
The number of reported incidents of assault, vandalism and harassment against Jewish communities and individuals in the United States was the highest on record in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
A total of 2,717 anti-Semitic incidents were reported last year, the highest on record, according to an ADL audit published in April. That was a 34% increase compared to the 2,026 incidents reported in 2020, the group said.
“This is an outrageous effort to fan the flames of anti-Semitism gripping the nation,” said Los Angeles ADL Regional Director Jeffrey Abrams. it’s a statement posted on the group’s Twitter account this Sunday. “This group, known for espousing anti-Semitism and white supremacist ideology, is now capitalizing on Ye’s anti-Semitism and is proof that hate breeds more hate.”
Abrams called Adidas, which is reviewing its partnership with West, saying “decisive action against anti-Semitism by Adidas is long overdue.”
Trends Wide has been unable to reach a representative for West for comment.
The banner appeared above the busy Los Angeles freeway a day before Beverly Hills police reported that anti-Semitic fliers were being distributed in the city, Trends Wide affiliate KCAL/KCBS reported.
Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse condemned the flyers and banner as “disgusting hate speech” in a Tweet. “As the daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, I will always bear witness and speak out.”
