Who Are The Jews? Kanye West’s Rhetoric Echoes Black Hebrew Israelites’ Antisemitism

Kanye West, now called Ye. Creative Commons photo.

(ANALYSIS) According to the controversial singer Ye, formerly called Kanye West, Black people are Jews. This part of his rhetoric is the strongest hint of where exactly his recent outpouring of antisemitism flows from.

Ye’s rhetoric has caused controversy and uproar in the past weeks, causing him to lose lucrative business deals with Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, Foot Locker and many other brands that he had long-time relationships with. Twitter and Instagram blocked Ye’s accounts, and JPMorgan Chase dropped him as a banking client. As a result of the loss, Ye is no longer a billionaire, according to Forbes. 

In recent years, Ye claims he has grown closer to God. In 2019, he came out with his “Jesus Is King” album showcasing to fans his newfound faith. Ye continued to talk about his faith in the 2021 album “Donda.” As he continued to speak about God, many assumed he was Christian, but what if Ye buried the lead? 

Despite his affinity for Jesus, Ye’s comments about Jews, or the “real” Jews, has started to sound similar to what the Black Hebrew Israelites claim about Judaism. 

In a tweet he posted on Oct. 8, Ye stated: 

I’m a bit sleepy tonight, but when I wake up, I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone who opposes your agenda.

While Black Jews and Jews of color are genuine members of the Jewish faith, Ye has no known ethnic Jewish heritage.

Many Black Hebrew Israelites believe and teach that the real Jews are Black people and other people of color. They claim to have descended from the ancient Hebrew people as one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Scholarly consensus criticizes this claim as historical revisionism.

Black Hebrew Israelites are known for their controversial street preaching to attract members. Some sects teach that modern-day Jews — as well as White, Asian and gay people — are imposters and evil. Not all Black Hebrew Israelites are antisemitic or extremist, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The Black Hebrew Israelite movement is divided into independent sects across the country. 

Last year, Black Hebrew Israelites made national news for being linked to the fatal shooting of two Orthodox Jews in Jersey City, New Jersey, and for their role inciting the Covington Catholic standoff at the Lincoln Memorial initially misreported in the media.

READ: Black Hebrew Israelite bishop dies days after fearing church punishment

Ironically, other hate groups have seemed to agree with Ye’s sentiments about Jewish people. In Los Angeles, white nationalists held a sign saying “Kanye is right about the Jews” along the freeway. 

In a clip from an unaired portion of an interview with Tucker Carlson, Ye made a similar statement about being a Jew. Ye said:

Planned Parenthood was made by Margaret Sanger, known (eugenicist), with the KKK to control the Jew population. When I say Jew, I mean the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are. This is who our people are.

Ye doubled down on his comments about Jews in another interview with Chris Cuomo on “NewsNation,” saying, “Black people are all also Jew — I classify as Jew also — so I actually can’t be an antisemite. The term is actually not factual.”

Ye, who appears in the interview while driving a car, also told Cuomo: 

There’s so many Black musicians signed to Jewish record labels, and those Jewish record labels take ownership, not only of the publishing … but also ownership of the culture itself. It’s like, “Oh, that’s mine.” This guy signed to me. It’s like modern-day slavery. And I’m calling it out. … It didn’t mean to wish any harm on (anyone).

Even though Ye calls himself a Christian in these interviews, members of the Hebrew Israelites have noticed Ye’s talking points as being adjacent to their faith. 

In a YouTube segment called Fixx Ya Face Fridays, members from Israel United in Christ — a Bronx-based group that teaches Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs while stating it is a stand-alone Israelite group — noted their influence on Black celebrities.

“This right here lets us know, brothers and sisters, that we have others watching us. This is why it is of the utmost importance that you — as a repented Israelite man or woman — you are walking in the laws, statutes and the commandments of the most high God and faith in his son because you have to be an example,” said Deacon Abbayael, a host of Fixx Ya Face Fridays. 

Ye even name-dropped a couple of Black celebrities who have a beef with the Jewish community. 

In a Drink Champ interview, Ye said: 

I want Jewish children to look at their daddy and say, “Why is Ye mad at us?” I want all their kids that love my shoes and my songs to say, “Why is Ye mad? What have you done to his people, to the darker Jews, to our brothers that has Ye speaking up — that has Nick Cannon, that had Ice Cube speaking up.”

Even though Ice Cube had denounced Ye’s antisemitic comments, he has also been criticized by the Jewish community. In the ’90s, his album “Death Certificate” caused outrage from a Jewish human rights organization because of his lyrics in “Black Korea” and “No Vaseline.”

Ice Cube is a convert to Islam (he calls himself “a natural Muslim” who does not follow rituals) and had some ties to Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam who is known to preach antisemitism. In 2020, when Jake Tapper called Farrakhan “a vile anti-LGBTQ, anti-Semitic misogynist,” Ice Cube took to Twitter, saying, “Watch Your Mouth, Jake.”

Cannon came under fire back in 2021 for sharing antisemitic rhetoric in an interview with Richard Griffith, a former member of Public Enemy. He and Griffith stated that they were the true Hebrews. 

Cannon explained that a conversation about the Jewish construct would help both sides better understand. 

“They want to throw that we are having hate speech when it’s never hate speech,” Cannon said. “You can’t be antisemitic when you are Semitic people, when we are the same people they want to be. That’s our birthright. So, if that is truly our birthright and there is no hate involved, how did this message get misconstrued?”

Griffith responded, “When we came back to claim it.”

According to Abbayael, the Fixx Ya Face Fridays host, the “Most High” is at work. The Most High is a common Hebrew Israelite term for God.

"The Most High is making it impossible for you to say you didn't know,” Abbayael said in his YouTube video. “So, when you start to see these celebrities speaking on it, it is because the pressure is being applied so much that it can’t be contained anymore.” 

According to a 2020 survey by the American Jewish Committee, about 15% of White liberals believe in one of three stereotypes about Jews, compared to 42% of Black liberals. About 30% of White conservatives believe at least one of the stereotypes, compared to more than 50% of Black conservatives. 

Before his now infamous antisemitic tweet, Ye unveiled “White Lives Matter” T-shirts alongside Black conservative pundit Candace Owens to show their disdain for the Black Lives Matter movement. After being banned from Twitter, Ye purchased the alternative, right-wing friendly social media network Parler, where Owens’ husband George Farmer is CEO.

Meagan Clark Saliashvili contributed reporting.

Princess Jones is a freelance writer based in North Carolina. Jones was a features editorial assistant at the New York Post and has worked for Religion Unplugged and the New York Amsterdam News. She is an alumna of Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee and of the NYC Semester in Journalism at The King’s College in New York City.