Latest news with #SimonWiesenthalCenter
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plea to Influencer 'Ms. Rachel' From Thousands of Suffering Israeli Children
Ms. Rachel, we want to believe you when you say, "I care deeply for all children. Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the U.S. - Muslim, Jewish, Christian children - all children, in every country." We at the Simon Wiesenthal Center share that sentiment. As a viral childrens early education and entertainment star with millions of YouTube followers, you, like few other influencers, have the power to change the status quo that for decades has been disastrous for the children in the Holy Land - Jew and Arab alike. As is well known, Israel unilaterally and voluntarily pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Two years later, voters put Hamas in power in Gaza. Since that time, every aspect of life in Gaza has been controlled by the brutal Islamist terrorist organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. As Palestinian human rights activist Bassam Eid lamented, "Gaza could Have Been Singapore. Hamas Turned It Into ISIS!" Sworn to the Jewish States destruction in its charter, Hamas has been using Gazas children as cannon fodder for their genocidal war against Israel. They have never built a single bomb shelter for Gazas civilians even as they ramped up their genocidal war against their Israeli neighbors with 500 kilometers of underground military tunnels. For nearly two decades they have indoctrinated Gazas children with a pro-war curriculum in UNRWA-run schools, where children are taught to deny Israels existence, to glorify martyrdom, to plan to kill Jews, and to be the generation to "Free Palestine from the River to the Sea." Untold numbers of UNRWA schoolchildren in Gaza spent summers learning how to use guns to target Jews, effectively recruiting child soldiers over the years in violation of Human rights law. To replenish their depleted ranks, Hamas was reported to have recruited around 30,000 young people to go to war. Hamas considers every child expendable, their value degraded to mere numbers by Hamas Ministry of Health unverified statistics fed to the UN and media outlets. The sketchy stats enable the terrorist group to spawn headlines and legal indictments accusing Israel of the genocide Hamas actually is guilty of. The latest Hamas-supplied statistics allege that more than 13,000 have been killed, with an estimated 25,000 injured. Beyond their numbers lies the brutal truth that the beautiful child you pray for in Gaza, whom you claim has been dehumanized, and her classmates who died, are the responsibility of Hamas terrorists, not Israel. Ms. Rachel, imagine if those who proclaim to care deeply about Palestinian children such as yourself had called out Hamas decades ago for brainwashing Gazas children and training them to hate and become martyrs. During those years, Israeli children in frontline communities suffered PTSD from incessant missile attacks. If only global influencers like yourself had declared "enough is enough" when children in Sderot were forced to use underground bomb shelters as their bedrooms and playgrounds, history would have unfolded differently. Instead, the worlds silence and apathy signaled to Hamas that they were free to murder 1,200 Israelis, burn families alive, rape, kidnap, and hold hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. Ms. Rachel, did you post on Oct. 8 your horror and outrage that 38 Israeli children in their PJs were murdered along with their families on a Saturday morning? Or when 42 others were taken hostage, including 9-month-old Kfir Biba and 4-year-old brother Ariel, who later returned in body bags? Did you help generate a groundswell of support from parents and educators worldwide demanding that world leaders insist on the immediate and unconditional release of all those stolen children? Unfortunately, Jewish lives havent mattered - not to the UN, not to the International Red Cross, not to NGOs self-identified as protectors of women and children. Jews were left to mourn apart and alone. Ms. Rachel, we still want to believe as parents and grandparents that you do "care for all children." We believe you can still make a difference. Hamas still holds and abuses 59 Israeli hostages, 24 of whom might still be alive, and children on both sides of this war continue to suffer. Your voice can still make a difference, even if it helps save just one child. Remember, Hamas could end all the suffering by disarming and releasing the hostages. But they wont so long as they can rely on the selective outrage, apathy, and roaring silence when it comes to Jews. Please, if you care, before its too late, signal that Jewish lives do matter. Rabbi Abraham Cooper is associate dean and director of Global Social Action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. & Dr. Deborah Soffen is a pediatrician and serves as the Simon Wiesenthal Center's women's and children's advocate.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Ye's song praising Hitler was pulled from most online platforms. Are they doing enough?
When controversial rapper Ye's new song praising Adolf Hitler was posted on social media platforms and music streaming services last week, most removed the antisemitic track within days. But some experts say these companies are not fast enough to respond or not doing enough to prevent the posting of hateful content — which, in the case of the song by the hip-hop artist formerly known as Kanye West, had already been viewed and listened to by millions. Vlad Khaykin, with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says tech companies are "falling down on the job" of protecting the public from hate, incitement, harassment and intimidation. "In this specific case, many of these platforms did take action to remove this from their platform. But the truth is it should have never had a presence on those sites in the first place," said Khaykin, who is the human rights organization's executive vice-president of social impact and partnerships for North America. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, agrees that these tech companies are not taking the most basic, common sense approach to systemically deal with content by "hate actors." Ye praises Hitler, Nazis in livestream interview 2 years ago Duration 2:08 "There are so many things that they could be doing," he said, whether hiring staff to specifically search for such hateful content or some more "sophisticated technological solution." "They could use the same tools that they used to identify copyrighted content." The companies are not transparent about what if any methods they use, he says. "I can't tell you whether or not there are people who are searching for the content." Ye's song and video for Heil Hitler, which glorifies the Nazi leader and includes a sample from a Hitler speech, was removed from a number of streaming platforms, but remains on Elon Musk's social media platform X. It is just the latest antisemitic messaging by Ye, whose X account has been deactivated and reactivated over the past few years because of such posts. This past February, it was deactivated following posts which included Ye declaring himself a Nazi and saying "I love Hitler." But he was soon back on X, where his Heil Hitler (Hooligan Version) video is now nearing 10 million views. Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called out X for allowing the song — saying in a statement it had become Ye's "partner in spreading vitriol against Jews" — and for allowing a "flagrant violation of its own rules." "We call on X to remove West from its platform and for other platforms and distributors to refuse to host or monetize this song," he said. "There must be a clear line when it comes to glorification of genocidal regimes, particularly to millions of young people." Neither X nor Musk have responded publicly to these complaints. But a number of other tech platforms say they've pulled Ye's song. A spokeswoman for SoundCloud, said in an email to CBC News that the audio streaming platform had taken steps to remove nearly 400 versions of Heil Hitler. YouTube says it removed the song and will continue to take down re-uploads, while Reddit says it has been removing the song and "any celebration of its message." Although Spotify did not respond, NBC reported that it also seemed to have removed the song from its platform. WATCH | How should we treat Kanye West? Certain tools to ID hateful content However, Khaykin, from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says we're in an age of technology when certain tools, like AI, can identify problematic content before it is added to a platform. In its annual Digital Terrorism and Hate Report Card, the centre rates how well major digital platforms combat online hate, antisemitism and extremism. The criteria includes how fast a platform removes such content once reported, and whether they have transparency reports with specific data on hate/terrorist content removals. But the centre gave low grades to most of those platforms in its 2025 report — TikTok got a C, Spotify got a C-, and Cs also went to both Google/YouTube and Facebook/Instagram. "It's not really, I think, a matter of capability," Khaykin said. "It's really a matter of will. Does there exist the will to actually, seriously do something about it? And unfortunately, sometimes the will to do the right thing, it bumps up against the profit motive." Ahmed, with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, also questions the companies' priorities. "It's worth remembering that these platforms, if you try and upload a few seconds of a copyrighted piece of music, it will be down in a heartbeat," he said. "But they somehow seem incapable of taking action against a piece of content that glorifies in the murder of millions of Jews." "They seem to be placing less concern about that than they do about someone stealing three seconds of a Taylor Swift song."
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kanye West's ‘Heil Hitler' song blocked from streaming platforms
A new song by rapper Kanye West has been removed from streaming platforms for glorifying Adolf Hitler. The rapper, now known as Ye, has been accused of anti-Semitism for releasing a song on VE day last week called 'Heil Hitler', which includes lyrics that praise the Nazi dictator. Sites such as Spotify and Soundcloud have blocked the track, although it is still available on Elon Musk's X, where it has received more than 8m listens. In the song's chorus, Mr West says: 'They don't understand the things I say on Twitter, Heil Hitler'. This is against the backdrop of a choreographed group of singers who repeat the refrain 'Heil Hitler'. A clip of Adolf Hitler speaking is also played towards the end of the song. Jim Berk, chief executive of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organisation, told Billboard Magazine: 'Kanye West's release of a song entitled 'Heil Hitler' on VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi regime, is hate speech, pure and simple.' He added that it was 'totally in line with the despicable messages we now expect from West'. The release of 'Heil Hitler' follows a string of anti-Semitic comments made by the rapper in recent years. In February, he posted on X: 'I'm a Nazi … I love Hitler'. In another song released in March, called WW3, he refers to himself as 'anti-Semitic fully'. Previously, he has designed t-shirts featuring swastikas and tried to sell them online. In a post on X, Mr West said his song 'has been banned by all digital streaming platforms while Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable' – referencing the 1974 track by Mr Newman known for its controversial use of racial slurs. He later posted a video appearing to show the controversial influencer Andrew Tate playing the song loudly from a sports car. In recent years, Mr West's anti-Semitic comments have caused him to lose millions of dollars worth of sponsorships with major brands. In 2022, Adidas cut ties with the rapper by ending a seven-year partnership to manufacture his Yeezy trainers. This came after Mr West said on X that he would 'go death con 3 on Jewish people'. Spotify and Soundcloud were contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kanye West's ‘Heil Hitler' song blocked from streaming platforms
A new song by rapper Kanye West has been removed from streaming platforms for glorifying Adolf Hitler. The rapper, now known as Ye, has been accused of anti-Semitism for releasing a song on VE day last week called 'Heil Hitler', which includes lyrics that praise the Nazi dictator. Sites such as Spotify and Soundcloud have blocked the track, although it is still available on Elon Musk's X, where it has received more than 8m listens. In the song's chorus, Mr West says: 'They don't understand the things I say on Twitter, Heil Hitler'. This is against the backdrop of a choreographed group of singers who repeat the refrain 'Heil Hitler'. A clip of Adolf Hitler speaking is also played towards the end of the song. Jim Berk, chief executive of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organisation, told Billboard Magazine: 'Kanye West's release of a song entitled 'Heil Hitler' on VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi regime, is hate speech, pure and simple.' He added that it was 'totally in line with the despicable messages we now expect from West'. The release of 'Heil Hitler' follows a string of anti-Semitic comments made by the rapper in recent years. In February, he posted on X: 'I'm a Nazi … I love Hitler'. In another song released in March, called WW3, he refers to himself as 'anti-Semitic fully'. Previously, he has designed t-shirts featuring swastikas and tried to sell them online. In a post on X, Mr West said his song 'has been banned by all digital streaming platforms while Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable' – referencing the 1974 track by Mr Newman known for its controversial use of racial slurs. He later posted a video appearing to show the controversial influencer Andrew Tate playing the song loudly from a sports car. In recent years, Mr West's anti-Semitic comments have caused him to lose millions of dollars worth of sponsorships with major brands. In 2022, Adidas cut ties with the rapper by ending a seven-year partnership to manufacture his Yeezy trainers. This came after Mr West said on X that he would 'go death con 3 on Jewish people'. Spotify and Soundcloud were contacted for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Kanye West's ‘Heil Hitler' song blocked from streaming platforms
A new song by rapper Kanye West has been removed from streaming platforms for glorifying Adolf Hitler. The rapper, now known as Ye, has been accused of anti-Semitism for releasing a song on VE day last week called 'Heil Hitler', which includes lyrics that praise the Nazi dictator. Sites such as Spotify and Soundcloud have blocked the track, although it is still available on Elon Musk's X, where it has received more than 8m listens. In the song's chorus, Mr West says: 'They don't understand the things I say on Twitter, Heil Hitler'. This is against the backdrop of a choreographed group of singers who repeat the refrain 'Heil Hitler'. A clip of Adolf Hitler speaking is also played towards the end of the song. Jim Berk, chief executive of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organisation, told Billboard Magazine: 'Kanye West's release of a song entitled 'Heil Hitler' on VE Day, the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi regime, is hate speech, pure and simple.' He added that it was 'totally in line with the despicable messages we now expect from West '. The release of 'Heil Hitler' follows a string of anti-Semitic comments made by the rapper in recent years. In February, he posted on X: 'I'm a Nazi … I love Hitler'. In another song released in March, called WW3, he refers to himself as 'anti-Semitic fully'. Previously, he has designed t-shirts featuring swastikas and tried to sell them online. In a post on X, Mr West said his song 'has been banned by all digital streaming platforms while Rednecks by Randy Newman remains streamable' – referencing the 1974 track by Mr Newman known for its controversial use of racial slurs. He later posted a video appearing to show the controversial influencer Andrew Tate playing the song loudly from a sports car. In recent years, Mr West's anti-Semitic comments have caused him to lose millions of dollars worth of sponsorships with major brands. In 2022, Adidas cut ties with the rapper by ending a seven-year partnership to manufacture his Yeezy trainers. This came after Mr West said on X that he would 'go death con 3 on Jewish people'.
