Celebrities like IceCube have been posting anti-Semitic messages “for ages,” with no repercussions. It’s time to take a stand against Jew hatred!
By Terri Nir, United with Israel
United with Israel has joined dozens of Jewish organizations, as well as other groups and thousands of individuals from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds who oppose anti-Semitism, in launching a ban of Twitter and Instagram, starting 9 a.m. on Monday, In protest of the social media platforms’ double standard when it comes to Jews and the State of Israel.
As activist Brooke Goldstein, executive director of The Lawfare Project, explains, prominent performers have been posting anti-Semitic messages “for ages,” with no repercussions.
“Wiley is just the straw that broke our back,” she says.
British rapper Wiley, whose real name is Richard Kylea Cowie Jr., wrote a series of vile Twitter posts against Jews and Israel.
According to Board of Deputies of British Jews President Marie van der Zyl, “We in the Jewish community were appalled to see Wiley’s anti-Jewish racist rant carry on for hour after hour with absolutely no intervention from Twitter or Instagram at all. Twitter and Instagram, the latter of which is owned by Facebook, have since acted too little and too late.
‘This Has to Change’
“Black Jews, in particular, have been left feeling especially vulnerable. Far too often, we see misogyny, homophobia and racism against different groups going unchecked on these platforms. This has to change,” she stated.
Together with people around the world we will be inactive on @Twitter for 48 hours starting from 9am this morning (IST).@jack we need @Twitter to be an antisemitism free zone.#NoSafeSpaceForJewHate
— United With Israel (@UniteWithIsrael) July 27, 2020
We are calling for all social media platforms to adopt the international definition of antisemitism; social media companies to have moderators in every country who can understand and interpret offensive language within a local context; a new regulator who can impose punitive fines when social media companies fail to crack down on hate.
“We hope that the police will prosecute Wiley’s racial hatred and it should go without saying that Wiley should be banned from all social media platforms and his offensive tweets deleted. Finally, as a racist, he should have his MBE revoked. There must be #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate,” she concluded.
United with Israel urges its members to join the ban in solidarity with the Jewish community.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1287428399338631169