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Dear John,
Antisemitism has stained the speeches and statements of Nation of Islam (NOI) leader Louis Farrakhan for decades and recently, prominent musicians, athletes and celebrities have lent Farrakhan a measure of legitimacy by amplifying his well-established record of antisemitism and hate.
This July 4 was no different for Farrakhan when he delivered an address full of antisemitic lies and stereotypes and called for his listeners to speak out against Jews.
His speech gained traction among a number of influencers and garnered over a million views on social media. Louis Farrakhan may be the most popular antisemite in America, and his messages that espouse hate and division have been given a pass in mainstream society.
During his July 4 address, Farrakhan referred to Jews collectively as “Satan” and the “enemy of God,” and claimed that white people “are born with lie [sic] and murder in their nature.” He encouraged listeners to “fight Satan the arch deceiver [and] the imposter Jews who are worthy of the chastisement of God.” He also described me, as the head of ADL, as “Satan” for our organization’s consistent, outspoken condemnations of him.
The surge of entertainers citing Farrakhan began even before his 4th of July speech, with Ice Cube and Chelsea Handler among those who promoted his words in recent weeks. And according to the Nation of Islam newspaper The Final Call, several celebrities attended Farrakhan’s July 4 event, including Nick Cannon, Stephen Jackson, TI, 2Chainz, Rick Ross, Jay Electronica, Stephanie Mills and Syleena Johnson.
Indeed, several entertainers and athletes have since been embroiled in controversies surrounding their own expressions of antisemitism and embrace of Farrakhan. For example:
- Following the speech, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver
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DeSean Jackson repeated Farrakhan’s antisemitic sentiments on Instagram, including a post where Jackson included a screenshot of a quote falsely attributed to Adolf Hitler that Black people are the “real Children of Israel and to keep Americas [sic] secret,” and that Jews will “blackmail [and] extort America.” After widespread condemnation, as well as a monetary fine by the Eagles for “conduct detrimental to the team,” Jackson apologized for his statements and has committed to
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educating himself on these antisemitic tropes and conspiracies.
- Less than a week ahead of the speech,
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Nick Cannon, a rapper who has become a radio and TV host, posted a 2019 interview onto his YouTube channel in which he defended Farrakhan and voiced his own antisemitic sentiments. The interview has been viewed 334,000 times. ViacomCBS fired Cannon over concerns about the interview. Cannon has apologized, vowed to become better informed about the Jewish community, and pulled down the video.
We are not alone in condemning Farrakhan’s message and those who echo it; we can all learn from the insightful and moving comments of respected figures such as
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ,
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Julian Edelman ,
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Zach Banner ,
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Jemele Hill and
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Mitch Albom in recent days.
For more about the latest speech by Farrakhan, please read our new
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“Farrakhan Remains the Most Popular Antisemite in America” blog post, so you can stand up and speak out about how unacceptable his hateful and divisive rhetoric is.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO and National Director
ADL
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