Kanye West Named 'Antisemite of the Year' by Watchdog Group

According to TMZ, West has been named "Antisemite of the Year" by watchdog group StopAntisemitism after several weeks and over 10,000 votes from members. The organization's director, Liora Rez, told TMZ that West was selected for "[using] his celebrity platform to push dangerous antisemitic tropes about Jews."

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"His continuous onslaught of bigoted statements has resulted in horrific antisemitic acts perpetrated by white supremacists, Black Hebrew Israelites, and other fringe groups looking to cause Jews harm," she added. "Jew hatred is already out of control in the United States and the last thing we need is a celebrity like Kanye to add fuel to that fire."

The "award" comes after West appeared for profess admiration for Adolf Hitler during an appearance on right-wing personality Alex Jones' Infowars earlier this month. During the appearance, West claimed that he “loves Jewish people,” but also “likes Nazis” and can see “good things about Hitler.”

That's just the latest example from West's months-long descent into radical anti-semitic discourse. He was recently banned (again) from Twitter for posting an image that combined a swastika and the Star of David — a decision confirmed by the platform's new owner Elon Musk. And in a recent interview, he said, "Jews should work for Christians."

In recent months, West has also aligned himself or appeared with alt-right figures like Alex Jones, Proud Boys founder Gaven McInnes, and white supremacist agitator Nick Fuentes.

In October, West announced he would be buying the conservative social media platform Parler, saying in a statement, "In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves." Earlier this month, it was announced that this would not be happening after all.

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