PURELY COMMENTARY

4 | NOVEMBER 17 • 2022

opinion
Antisemitism Is Not Free Speech

T

he recent Detroit News
opinion piece by col-
umnist Karen Dumas
(“Opinions don’t threaten free
speech,” Oct. 25) portrayed
Kanye West (now known as Ye)
as a victim of cancel culture.
This disregards the blatant
antisemitism in Ye’s recent
comments and loses sight of
the importance of protecting
free speech — while con-
demning hate speech that can
lead to violence.
The column also suggested
that Ye was silenced by “those
who control the platforms,”
reinforcing the notion that
Jews wield a monolithic influ-
ence over the media and other
levers of power, which is itself
a long-standing and pernicious
antisemitic trope. The many
companies that distanced
themselves from Ye did so out
of abhorrence for the views he
has espoused.
As leaders and representatives
of the Detroit Jewish communi-
ty, we are grateful for the swift
and sincere efforts of the paper
to acknowledge and rectify
this by editing the piece. The
Detroit News has been a staunch
supporter and ally to the Jewish
community, and we know
they will continue to stand up
against antisemitism, as well as
against all forms of hatred and
intolerance.
This is a critical and urgent
issue for the Jewish commu-
nity. Contrary to the corrosive
narrative of outsized power
and influence, Jewish individ-
uals today remain uniquely
vulnerable.
According to 2020 FBI hate
crime statistics, Jews — who

make up a little more the 2% of
the U.S. population — were the
targets of 54.9% of all religious-
ly motivated hate crimes. The
American Jewish Committee’s
2020 State of Antisemitism
in America report found that
88% of American Jews viewed
hatred against Jews as a prob-
lem in our country.
Antisemitism appears in a
variety of forms, from hate
speech and the propagation
of lies and stereotypes to acts
of open violence and terror. It
emerges from across the polit-
ical divide, uniting neo-Nazis
and other racist hate groups
with those from the opposing
extreme who use their polit-
ical animosity for the state of
Israel as a pretext to slander or
assault the Jewish people.
Due to Israeli conflicts with
the terrorist group Hamas, for
example, attacks against syna-
gogues and Jewish Community
Centers rose by 61% in 2021.
Alarmingly, there has been
a sharp overall increase in

anti-Semitism in recent years.
In 2021, a record number of
anti-Semitic incidents were
recorded in the U.S., accord-
ing to the ADL, growing 34%
over the previous year.
Jewish communities
around the world are
experiencing a surge in
harassment, vandalism
and physical violence,
including deadly assaults
and acts of mass murder.
Just recently, we marked the
four-year anniversary of the
assault on the Tree of Life
Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill
neighborhood of Pittsburgh
that left 11 people dead.
It is against this stark real-
ity that Ye’s recent comments
were widely recognized as
offensive, dangerous and
unacceptable. Allowing antise-
mitic discourse to go unchal-
lenged leads to its spread and
normalization across society.
The comments and tweets
of world-famous celebrities
become the everyday banter

between acquaintances on
the street. Extremists are
emboldened and a new
generation is indoctrinated in
hate. This is how the scourge
of antisemitism continues to
fester and grow.
Living in the shadow of the
Holocaust, we remain resolved
to fight antisemitism whenever
and wherever it appears, and
we thank the many allies who
have advocated on our behalf.
Once again, we are grateful
to the editors of the Detroit
News for working with us
to use this moment as an
opportunity for learning
and open communication
on a subject that has often
been underreported and
underestimated.
We also recognize the
Jewish people are not alone in
struggling against prejudice
and hatred, and we stand
in solidarity with all groups
that have been assailed or
marginalized. Guided by the
Jewish principal of “tikkun
olam” — repairing the world
— we remain committed to
working with our friends and
neighbors across the wider
community to build a place
of peace, justice and respect
for all.

Matthew B. Lester is president of the

Jewish Federation of Metropolitan

Detroit. Dennis S. Bernard is president

of the United Jewish Foundation. Phil

Neuman is president of the Jewish

Community Relations Council/AJC.

Steven Ingber is CEO of the Jewish

Federation of Metropolitan Detroit,

and Rabbi Asher Lopatin is executive

director of the Jewish Community

Relations Council/AJC. This op-ed was

originally published in the Detroit News

on Nov. 7.

Matthew B. Lester, Dennis S. Bernard, Phil Neuman, Steven Ingber and Asher Lopatin

People pay their respects at a memorial to the victims of a mass
shooting in front of the Tree of Life - Or L’Simcha Congregation in
Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 4, 2018.

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