After discussing with our distributor partners and filmmakers, we decided not to distribute our Kanye West documentary. Any content that amplifies his platform is not supported.
Kanye is a producer, sampler and remixer of music. Last week he sampled and remixed a classic tune that has charted for over 3000 years – the lie that Jews are evil and conspire to control the world for their own gain. This song was performed a capella in the time of the Pharaohs, Babylon and Rome, went acoustic with The Spanish Inquisition and Russia’s Pale of Settlement, and Hitler took the song electric. Kanye has helped to mainstream it in modern times.
This one is no exception. They can create the illusion that the act is justified and that the bigot is innocent if they are well-crafted. “punching up”At the victim. It’s critical to antisemites, who must explain why they are attacking a people that comprise less than half of one percent of the world’s population. This is not fair, in numbers. However, if the Jews are extremely powerful because of secret evil plans, then the argument is that it must be fair.
Disconcerting, but not surprising, is the silence of leaders and corporations regarding Kanye and antisemitism generally. The fear that Jews may not be able to defend themselves is something new and sad.
Why is Kanye quiet when a group which has been courageous and unreserved in its fight to antisemitism remains so silent?
Because of the emergence of a second lie – one that is at the center of what we call Antisemitism 2.0. It is beautifully crafted and fast becoming part mainstream thinking. The truth is as follows:
If you support Israel’s right to exist, you are a racist.
If you are a Jew, you support Israel’s right to exist.
You are therefore a racist if you’re Jewish.
As the company’s leaders (a Jew and a Muslim as well as a Christian), it is our duty to inform you that this is an evil, pernicious use of false logic. It is very compatible with the first “punching up”The lie that all Jews have been connected by conspiracy. This is working because many Jews are afraid to defend their religion or Israel for fear that they will be labeled racists. It is no more true than saying that if you support Palestine’s right to exist, you must be an antisemite.
For proof of how quickly a protest of Israel’s policies can jump to antisemitism, look no further than last week’s outrage at Wellesley College. This school is an historic bastion of civil rights and liberalism. But last week its newspaper editorial board saw fit not only to condemn Israel, but actually publish a MAP of Jewish places of worship, organizations and business in the area so that they could be targeted for protest – or worse. Wellesley would find this surprising, but Neo-Nazis wouldn’t be surprised.
The three of us would like to make this our position.
- We support Palestine’s right to exist.
- We support Israel’s right to exist.
- Both nations represent a dream and an ideal for their peoples – one of safety, freedom, and prosperity.
- Both ideals should be protected, even though there are significant objections to both the policies and the peoples of each nation.
- Objections to a nation’s government do not constitute grounds for discrimination against that nation’s citizens or supporters.
- We all reject the assertions that we, our coworkers, or anyone else are bigoted or racist because they support the sovereignty or existence of any country. All of these countries have their flaws.
We are sorry if you have heard or seen these intolerances perpetuated. This is absolutely unacceptable. It is completely unacceptable.
Scott, Modi, Asif