Kanye West apologized in Hebrew

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has a long history of making anti-Semitic comments, apologized to the Jewish community in an Instagram post written in Hebrew on Tuesday.

“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintentional outbursts caused by my words or actions,” Ye wrote.

“It was not my intention to offend or belittle, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” continued the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021.

The statement comes less than two weeks after Ye made an anti-Semitic slur while promoting his upcoming album “Vultures” in Las Vegas, due out Jan. 12. In the discourse, he made sly insinuations about Jewish influence and compared himself to Jesus Christ and Jesus. Adolf Hitler.

“After causing untold damage by using his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with virulent antisemitism and hatred, a Hebrew apology could be the first step in a long journey toward reforming the Jewish community and all those he has hurt. “Ultimately, actions will speak louder than words, but this first act of contrition will be welcomed,” the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement to The Associated Press and other news outlets on Tuesday.

However, the American Jewish Committee criticized Ye’s use of Hebrew in the apology.

“Beyond being odd and likely a ploy to attract more attention, the Hebrew apology, released without translation, is inaccessible to most American Jews who do not speak the language,” the AJC said in a statement to the AP. “Of course, using Hebrew to communicate with the Jewish community deliberately denies most American Jews, and by extension non-Jews, the ability to see Kanye’s apology directly.”

“While he claims to be committed to learning and better understanding, this apology addresses ‘any pain I may have caused’ rather than an acknowledgment of the pain he has caused,” the AJC continued.

You have a history of offensive and anti-Semitic comments, including constant praise for Hitler and the Nazis. He also once suggested that slavery was a choice and called the coronavirus vaccine “the mark of the beast.” In October 2022, he was criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at his Paris Fashion Week show and tweeted that he would be doing “death scam 3 ON THE JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the US’s defense preparedness. scale, DEFCON.

Later that month, fashion house Balenciaga cut ties with Ye and lost the lucrative partnership with Adidas, whose words had helped him rise to billionaire status.

“Ye’s recent comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and violate the company’s values ​​of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” the German sportswear company said at the time. Adidas sold hundreds of millions of euros of its remaining Yeezy shoes, donating some of the profits to groups such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change.

(But recently, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in a podcast episode that Ye “didn’t think he meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person.” Gulden later apologized, the Anti-Defamation League said.)

He was also fired by talent agency CAA and his documentary with MRC Entertainment was cancelled. He was blocked from accessing the accounts on Instagram and what was then known as Twitter, but he later returned to both platforms.

This isn’t the first time the rapper has apologized for his anti-Semitic comments. He expressed some regret for his “death scam 3” tweet on a podcast in October 2022, calling the initial tweet a mistake and apologizing “to the Jewish community.” He also went on to “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”

“I will say I’m sorry for the people I hurt with the confusion I created,” he said on the show. But less than two months later, he told conspiracy theorist and presenter Alex Jones that he saw “good things about Hitler.”

“We’ve seen this behavior from Kanye before; anti-Semitic shouts followed by an apology,” the American Jewish Committee said.

Ye’s latest apology ends with him saying he is determined to “learn from this experience” and plans to “make it right.” A representative for Ye did not immediately respond to AP’s request for further comment.