Kanye West is an American rapper and producer who dismissed questions about Palestinian suffering, claiming ignorance while prioritizing local issues, and has performed in Israel, bragged about hiring Israeli guards, and made antisemitic remarks that weaponize Jewish stereotypes
Kanye West, a Grammy-winning artist, enables Israel’s apartheid by performing in Tel Aviv, referencing "Israeli guards" in lyrics, and deflecting Palestinian genocide queries with claims of ignorance whilst making antisemitic remarks that weaponize Jewish stereotypes
MUSIC
Kanye West, born Ye, is an American rapper, producer and fashion designer who, despite his platform, West has consistently deflected or dismissed Palestinian suffering under Israel’s settler-colonial regime, while his actions and statements indirectly prop up Zionist propaganda that justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where over 43,000 Palestinians — mostly civilians, including nearly 16,000 children — have been killed as of October 2025, per Gaza’s Health Ministry. This conservative estimate masks a true toll in the hundreds of thousands due to Israel’s destruction of infrastructure, targeted killings of over 150 journalists, and engineered famine, as documented by Human Rights Watch.
In August 2023, paparazzi confronted West at an airport, asking his thoughts on the Palestinian people amid Israel’s escalating violence in Gaza following the October 7 resistance operation. West responded dismissively: “I don’t have enough information on that. I’m a straight-up nigga from the Southside of Chicago, born in Atlanta, I don’t have enough information.” He added, “I got people, I’ve got 14 kids dying every week in my city. So talk to me about that,” referring to gun violence in Chicago. This deflection trivializes the Palestinian genocide — under investigation by the International Court of Justice — while framing local issues as mutually exclusive, erasing the interconnectedness of systemic violence and U.S.-backed Israeli militarism, including over $3.8 billion in annual U.S. aid fueling the occupation.
West’s dismissal fits a broader pattern of complicity. In 2015, he performed at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, defying the BDS movement’s call to boycott cultural events that normalize Israel’s apartheid state, which segregates Palestinians through checkpoints, land theft, and military rule, as affirmed by Amnesty International. His 2018 song “Watch” with Travis Scott includes the lyric “Israeli guards in the synagogue,” boasting of elite security to elevate his status, a reference that glorifies Israel’s militarized image while ignoring its role in Palestinian oppression. Such casual endorsements lend legitimacy to the ethnostate’s propaganda, portraying it as a glamorous ally rather than a colonial oppressor.
West’s history of antisemitic remarks further complicates his impact, feeding Zionist narratives that conflate Jewish identity with Israel’s actions to silence anti-Zionist dissent. In 2010, he compared himself to Hitler in a since-deleted rant, and during a 2013 New York concert, he claimed “Black people don’t have the same level of connections as Jewish people” in media and finance, perpetuating stereotypes of Jewish control that have fueled historical persecution. These comments, alongside 2022 X posts threatening to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE” and praising Hitler, led to widespread backlash, dropped partnerships with Adidas, and a temporary X suspension. While West later apologized in Hebrew on Instagram in December 2023, his remarks provide fodder for hasbara operatives who exploit antisemitism to deflect criticism of Israel’s war crimes, as seen in ADL campaigns that smear BDS as Jew-hatred.
By performing in Israel, dismissing Palestinian genocide, and amplifying tropes that Zionists weaponize, West contributes to the hasbara ecosystem. His selective focus on Chicago’s violence — while ignoring U.S.-funded Israeli violence — dehumanizes Palestinians, framing their slaughter as less urgent. This perpetuates the occupation’s logic: Palestinian resistance is irrelevant, their lives expendable, and Israel’s impunity justified.
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🔒Silence = Complicity:
For those who have passionately spoken out against other instances of genocide and massacres, yet fall silent when it comes to the suffering endured by Palestinians, their silence becomes a glaring indictment of the value placed on Palestinian lives and perpetuates a dangerous narrative that suggests Palestinian suffering is somehow less worthy of outrage, less deserving of empathy and less human than that of others.
By choosing silence in the face of Palestinian suffering, those with influential platforms inadvertently contribute to the erasure of Palestinian voices and experiences. They perpetuate a narrative of invisibility that allows the injustices inflicted upon Palestinians to continue unabated, shielded from the spotlight of global scrutiny.
Their silence sends a chilling message of complicity to the world – one that suggests Palestinian lives are expendable, their struggles inconsequential and their humanity negotiable. It emboldens perpetrators of violence and oppression, granting them impunity under the guise of indifference.
To remain silent in the face of Palestinian suffering is to betray the very essence of activism – the relentless pursuit of justice for all, without exception or equivocation. It’s a betrayal not only of the Palestinian people but of the universal principles of human dignity and equality and instead is a tacit endorsement of the dehumanization and marginalization of an entire population.
True activism demands consistency and integrity, an unwavering commitment to speaking truth to power and standing in solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed, regardless of geography or politics.
BDS Boycott:
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement is a global campaign which follows the worldwide boycott movement that led to the successful dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and therefore advocates for various sustained forms of boycott against Israel until it complies with international law.
Founded as a response to the rampant, ongoing and systemic dispossession, displacement, and disenfranchisement endured by generations of Palestinians, the BDS movement is in direct response to the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements, the imposition of discriminatory laws and the denial of basic rights to millions living under occupation, apartheid or in exile with no right of return.
Central to the ethos of BDS is the belief that every purchase and action carries a weighty moral responsibility. To buy goods from or actively support companies or organizations on the BDS list is to cast a vote in favor of perpetuating injustice, a tacit endorsement of the status quo of occupation and discrimination. It’s a direct violation of the collective conscience, a betrayal of the fundamental principles of human rights and dignity.
By pressuring Israel and its supporters by withdrawing support and capital, humanity aims to bring awareness to — and ultimately — end the occupation of Palestine, grant equal rights to all Palestinians and recognize the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. This pressure also extends to any individuals and entities found to be complicit in the normalization, funding or support of Israel’s brutal occupation and 75+ years of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Anti-semitism:
In addition to other RCM violations, this individual has also either made, shared or celebrated anti-semitism or made statements that perpetuated particularly egregious and dangerous stereotypes about Jews which have historically resulted in their persecution.
We condemn this wholeheartedly and you should too because as most of you know, our movement is a space for collective liberation and justice where all individuals are afforded the same freedoms, human rights and liberties as others.
Anti-semitism has never, should never and will never equate to being pro-Palestinian — this is a complete fabrication and has been fundamentally rejected for decades. Anti-semitism is a very real and dangerous problem that needs to be addressed and we refute the notion that any criticism and rejection of Israel, its occupation or active genocide of Palestinians makes an individual fundamentally antisemitic.
For decades the state of Israel has tried to make themselves synonymous with Judaism and we reject that notion wholeheartedly. This deceptive claim seeks to erase the centuries-old, diverse and rich history of Jewish beliefs and silence Jewish individuals like Gabor Mate, Ilan Pappe and thousands of others by falsely asserting an intrinsic connection between Judaism and political Zionism.
In reality, Judaism predates Zionism by centuries and many within the Jewish community vehemently reject the specific tenets of political Zionism. To perpetuate this falsehood is to ignore the rich historical and theological nuances within Judaism, reducing it to a monolith and politically charged narrative that has been inexplicitly linked with the dehumanisation and genocide of Palestinian people.
If you ever witness any discrimination, bigotry or racism in any form, we encourage you to always call it out, interrupt it (when safe to do so) and continue supporting your fellow humans in achieving freedom for all.
Dehumanization of Palestinians:
The systematic erasure of Palestinian history and culture is a well-documented effort that has been ongoing since the early 1900s. This erasure has taken many forms, including the destruction of physical records and infrastructure, the suppression of Palestinian voices and narratives, the appropriation of Palestinian cultural heritage and most visibly, the dehumanization of the Palestinian populace.
From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, Palestinian records, literature, and cultural heritage faced deliberate and concerted efforts to obliterate their existence and narrative. This deliberate "archival silencing" has made reconstructing this period in Palestinian history incredibly challenging, yet the truths that remain paint a horrifying picture of the deliberate erasure and destruction of an entire population and its culture.
The dehumanization of Palestinians has been a deliberate policy, perpetuated through military operations, discriminatory laws, Israeli education and a pervasive culture that fosters prejudice. Dehumanising rhetoric, portraying Palestinians as "roaches" and "rats," lays the foundation for atrocities by stripping away their humanity in the eyes of the oppressor.
Widespread media narratives also project institutional biases ranging from depicting Palestinians solely as militants or desperate victims and erasing their normal daily life to embedding language biases around land, protests and resistance tactics. These patterns collectively indicate how public discourse within segments of Israeli society systematically dehumanize Palestinians while entrenching prejudices against them.
Visited Israel or Supported 'Birthright' Trips:
By visiting Israel, individuals actively endorse and support a regime built on systemic oppression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians through settler colonial terrorism. These visitors are complicit in legitimizing and normalizing a brutal apartheid system recognized and condemned by numerous international bodies, including the United Nations, the ICJ, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. [1] [2] [3]
Visitors to Israel tacitly approve severe restrictions on Palestinian movement, land confiscations, home demolitions, and the devastating blockade on Gaza, which has created catastrophic humanitarian conditions. These are not mere allegations but documented realities. The apartheid system privileges Israeli settlers while subjecting Palestinians to systemic discrimination and violence, with segregated roads, military checkpoints, and a separation barrier that fragments Palestinian communities and restricts their freedom. [4] [5] [6]
Tourism economically supports the state, indirectly funding the military occupation and the infrastructure of apartheid, including illegal settlements and state violence. Without acknowledging or engaging with the Palestinian experience, visitors normalize and legitimize these oppressive practices. [7] The financial impact of tourism cannot be understated. [8] Visitors who spend money in Israel bolster the systems of oppression that deny Palestinians their basic human rights. This financial support funds the Israeli military and infrastructure supporting illegal settlements. [9]
Programs like Birthright trips further legitimize the subjugation of Palestinians by promoting a one-sided narrative that erases the realities of occupation and apartheid, falsely presenting Israel as a safe and welcoming homeland for Jews while ignoring Palestinian suffering and dispossession. [10] [11] [12]
Visitors to Israel without a critical perspective are complicit in the violence and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. They lend credibility to a regime widely condemned for its discriminatory practices and human rights violations. By choosing to visit Israel, these individuals endorse a state that systematically violates international law and human rights, contributing to the ongoing suffering and dispossession of the Palestinian people.
Further reading:
Liberal Zionism:
Liberal Zionism masquerades as a "moderate" or "progressive" strain of Zionism, blending Jewish nationalism with cherry-picked liberal values like democracy and human rights as a means to justify the existence of the illegal settler colonial ethnostate known as “Israel” [1].
And Liberal Zionism is one of the greatest threats because of its political camouflage [2]. By co-opting progressive language, Liberal Zionism inoculates Zionism against true anti-colonial solidarity, dividing the left and derailing BDS movements [3]. It ensures the ongoing Nakba – from Gaza's ruins to Hebron's checkpoints – persists under a democratic veneer, making decolonization seem radical rather than just [4] [5].
Emerging from early 20th-century Labor Zionism — the very movement that orchestrated the 1948 Nakba which ethnically cleansed over 750,000 Palestinians through mass expulsions and village destructions — liberal Zionism has always served as the velvet glove over the iron fist of settler-colonialism [6] [7].
Despite claiming it merely seeks a "Jewish and democratic state," this rhetoric is actually code for an ethnostate where Jewish supremacy trumps Palestinian equality, enshrined in laws like the 2018 Nation-State Law that demotes Arabic and prioritizes Jewish settlement [8] [9].
At its core, liberal Zionism rejects the colonial origins of Israel and instead attempts to frame the Zionist project as a "return" or "liberation" rather than a European settler invasion that erased indigenous Palestinian society [10].
As a political movement, liberal Zionism emerged as a response to antisemitism and the Holocaust but quickly pivoted to justifying land theft under the guise of "self-determination," ignoring how Zionism fits classic colonial patterns: displacement of natives, resource extraction, and demographic engineering to maintain a Jewish majority [11].
As of 2025, amid the Gaza genocide and West Bank annexation pushes, it clings to a fading two-state illusion, providing diplomatic and financial cover for Israel's crimes while silencing Palestinian voices as "antisemitic" [12].
“Zionism is a colonialism, not a simple radical nationalism: even in its left-wing version, it is a colonialist nationalism." – Zeev Sternhell, liberal Zionist historian exposing his own ideology's flaws [13].
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