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.

WIKIMEDIA

