Jewish Organizations Criticize Kanye West’s Reference to Jonah Hill Film in Apology to Jewish Community

Jewish organizations StopAntisemitism and the American Jewish Committee have expressed their dissatisfaction with rapper and fashion entrepreneur Kanye West’s apology for his anti-Semitic attacks in 2022. West recently posted a tribute to actor Jonah Hill on Instagram, claiming that watching 21 Jump Street made him “like Jewish people again.” However, these organizations believe that West needs to do more than watch a movie in order to make up for the harm he caused.

Richard Hirschhaut, a representative from AJC, commented that it was “odd” that West would think that watching a movie with Jonah Hill was enough to make up for his antisemitic tirades. Liora Rez, executive director of StopAntisemitism, added that the apology was not sufficient, especially considering the dangerous trickle-down effect of hatred against Jews that his words had caused. StopAntisemitism had previously labeled West as the “Antisemite Of The Year,” and the ADL reported that his remarks were linked to 30 antisemitic incidents in the U.S.