Israeli ambassador condemns Kanye West for praising Hitler

Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog spoke out today against rapper Kanye West’s remarks about Jews. 

“I am sickened by the conversation that Alex Jones had with avowed antisemites Kanye West and Nick Fuentes,” said Herzog on Twitter. “At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, it is alarming that such vile rhetoric is given a platform and legitimized.”

What happened: West, who now goes by the name “Ye,” appeared today on the show of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones alongside white nationalist Nick Fuentes. West made numerous antisemitic comments on the show. 

"I see good things about Hitler,” said West, adding that the German dictator “invented highways.” This may have been a reference to the autobahn. 

West also engaged in Holocaust denial, saying “He (Hitler) had a really cool outfit and stuff … and he didn’t kill six million Jews.” 

Numerous scholars agree that approximately six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, along with around five million non-Jews from a variety of communities. 

Jones offered some pushback to West at some points, calling Nazis “thugs,” to which West replied, “We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.” 

West notably suffers from bipolar disorder. Nonetheless, he said he is running for president in 2024. West also ran for president in 2020. 

Fuentes, who is one of the most prominent white nationalists to support former President Donald Trump, has also spoken ill of Jews. Last week, Fuentes threatened Jewish people, saying “the Jews had better start being nice to people like us, because what comes out of this is going to get a lot uglier for them.” 

Know more: West’s antisemitism is not new. Last month, he tweeted his desire to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

Trump met with West and Fuentes last week, for which he was widely criticized. After the meeting, Trump issued a statement on his social media network, Truth Social, saying West “expressed no antisemitism.” Trump also claimed he “didn’t know Fuentes” and that he urged West to not run for president. Trump also mentioned West’s “difficulties,” which may have been a reference to the rapper’s mental illness. 

Israeli Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Trump for the West meeting, calling it “wrong and misplaced” in an interview with US journalist Bari Weiss. 

The US ambassador to Israel under Trump, David Friedman, also slammed Trump over the issue, 

“Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable,” Friedman tweeted. 

West’s remarks on Jews have been widely covered by Israeli media.