Why was Kanye West invited to Holocaust Museum LA? People flood institution with antisemitic vitriol
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rapper Kanye West had recently gone on an antisemitic rant with a tweet that he was going to go "death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE…" Twitter swiftly removed Ye’s tweet for reportedly violating the platform’s rules.
According to CBS News, West’s comments have been slammed by a number of influential people and celebrities. Now, the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles has invited the 'Famous' rapper to stop by on Tuesday, October 11, to learn more about the devastation hate speech can cause. In an Instagram story, the museum stated, "Words matter and words have consequences Ye. We urge you to come visit us at Holocaust Museum L.A. to understand just how words can incite horrific violence and genocide."
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The museum reportedly said in its invitation, "The Holocaust started with only words that sadly begat stereotypes, racial and religious tropes and blaming others and led to the murder of six million Jews. At Holocaust Museum LA it is our mission to commemorate those who are murdered, educate on the Holocaust and all genocides and inspire a more dignified and human world." West, however, declined their invitation, reportedly saying that Planned Parenthood was his Holocaust museum on the 'Drink Champs' podcast.
According to CBS, Beth Kean, CEO of the Holocaust Museum of LA, said, "We know for a fact that education is the greatest catalyst for change. When students and visitors come to the museum if they enter as bystanders they leave as upstanders. We know that," she said. "We publicly invited (West) to come to the museum and he publicly rejected our offer."
Kean claimed that ever since extending the invitation, the museum has received a flood of vile antisemitic comments on social media platforms. "I think Kanye has more than double the amount of Twitter followers than there are Jews living in this world," Kean reportedly said, as per CBS, adding, "People like Kanye have a huge platform, he has over 30 million Twitter followers and he needs to understand that he needs to use his words to inspire and not incite and to not perpetuate hate and lies and an antisemitism."
In a series of tweets, the museum expressed it's displeasure, "Ye, since we invited you to visit us at Holocaust Museum LA we have received a tremendous amount of social media messages and comments...some filled with hate, threats, and vitriol. Others were saddled with hurt and yearned for further discourse. To those who are using this as a platform to continue to spew hate we have a message for you: You will not discourage us from our mission to share the lessons of the Holocaust to commemorate those who were murdered, to educate all who will listen and learn."
Ye, since we invited you to visit us at Holocaust Museum LA we have received a tremendous amount of social media messages and comments...some filled with hate, threats, and vitriol. Others were saddled with hurt and yearned for further discourse. @kanyewest pic.twitter.com/bWAiebfnXB
— Holocaust Museum LA (@hmla1961) October 13, 2022
To those who are using this as a platform to continue to spew hate we have a message for you: You will not discourage us from our mission to share the lessons of the Holocaust to commemorate those who were murdered, to educate all who will listen and learn.
— Holocaust Museum LA (@hmla1961) October 13, 2022
Ye, you have over 30m Twitter followers (twice as many Twitter followers as the total number of Jews on earth). You and anyone reading this can make a difference, you can choose to join us in building bridges rather than tearing them down.
— Holocaust Museum LA (@hmla1961) October 13, 2022