The faculty of the Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies condemns the antisemitic messages drawn near University of Florida campus buildings on February 2, 2023 in support of Kanye West (Ye). These messages endorsed that performer’s own antisemitic remarks from Autumn 2022.
As the sole unit on campus teaching academic courses on the Jewish historical, literary, political, and religious tradition, we are extremely well-versed in the history of antisemitism. Some of us teach courses on the topic, and many of us have classes that touch on the subject.
The antisemitic tropes used by West in Autumn 2022, as well as those used by basketball player Kyrie Irving that followed, contained numerous false accusations against Jews. None of these accusations are new. The notion that Jews are motivated solely by material gain is hundreds of years old, as is the notion that Jews are the secret malevolent power behind governments, industries, and finance. Especially pernicious in our current moment in the US is the notion that Jews are the exploiters of the disenfranchised and the powerless.
It should go without saying that Kanye West (Ye) is not – the chalk messages notwithstanding – right. In fact, he is not even original. And yet he has a following. That makes his statements potentially dangerous.
None of us thought ten years ago that one of our functions as Jewish Studies faculty would be to counter odious disinformation on our own campus, that of a major research university no less. We offer our support to all UF students affected by these abhorrent messages. We also urge all UF students to explore our many classes and academic programs on the breadth and depth of the Jewish experience across time and place, as well as the sheer diversity of Jewish people around the world. Finally, we also call on other academic units to stand with students affected by today’s events.