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Published 07:27 IST, December 5th 2022

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes Trump will condemn antisemitism

"On this matter, on Kanye West and that other unacceptable guest, I think it's not merely unacceptable, it's just wrong," Netanyahu said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
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IMAGE: AP | Image: self

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that he hopes former US President Trump condemns antisemitism and anti-Jewish sentiments after he was spotted having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye last month. In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," the Israeli leader noted that he expects Trumps to condemn the antisemitism following the American rapper Kanye West, known as Ye's suspension from Twitter. Netanyahu hailed the former president's foreign policy decisions toward Israel as he brokered the historic Abraham Accords. 

But the Republican leader is yet to condemn publicly the antisemitic reactions of rapper Ye, who recently posted the image of a Nazi swastika inside a Star of David after he accompanied Fuentes, a "white supremacist" to Trump's state dinner at Mar a Lago. Trump received widespread backlash for hosting Fuentes, whom he said he had no idea was invited over. Netanyahu on Sunday praised Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. He also lauded the former leader's move of relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

"So, he's done all these great things, and I appreciate it, and I remain appreciative," Netanyahu told NBC's "Meet the Press." "On this matter, on Kanye West and that other unacceptable guest, I think it's not merely unacceptable, it's just wrong. And I hope he sees his way to staying out of it and condemning it," he added.

Ye's Twitter account suspended over Nazi symbol, anti Jew views; and his comment about 'liking Hitler'

Twitter boss Elon Musk last week suspended rapper Kanye West known as rapper Ye’s account after he shared an image of a Nazi Hakenkreuz dubbed as a swastika combined with the Star of David, in breach of Twitter's rules. Ye was accused of "inciting violence" over a series of offensive antisemitic tweets, and musk was asked by a user to "fix Kanye". West had "violated our rule against incitement to violence", Musk tweeted."Account will be suspended," he wrote.

West shared the Nazi symbol after his interview with the US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. With his face covered in a black mask, West praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and ranted other erratic things about sin, pornography, and the devil. The Head of the UK's Holocaust Educational Trust slammed West's recent antisemitic views as "repulsive and sickening". "These comments mixed with his high profile and huge following have dangerous consequences," chief executive Karen Pollock reportedly said. Ye's recent series of antisemitic and racist remarks prompted the clothing brand Adidas to cut ties with him. 

Before his account was suspended, Ye posted a series of strange tweets including text message exchanges between himself and the Tesla CEO. Among other tweets, he praised Balenciaga, the clothing brand accused of depicting child pornography in its recent ad campaign. Ye then ended up posting a picture of a swastika merged with a Star of David. 

Updated 07:27 IST, December 5th 2022