While everyone is focused on Kanye west’s mental breakdown, I find David Schwimmer’s comments a lot more interesting. As for Kanye, it’s pretty straightforward: he’s lost his wife, his reputation, and he’s in the process of losing his mind. He also has the kind of friends who excuse anything as “Ye being Ye.” Good luck with the new online Swastika business, I guess.
Let’s take a look at what Schwimmer said, and what he left out:
“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point.”
Anyone who knows anything about Kanye knows the following: he does not wish to exterminate all Asians, or gay people, or the disabled. He’s not remotely interested in Franco or Mussolini. And he’s not likely to do a deep dive on Fascist economics anytime soon. No, Kanye West’s only has hatred in his heart for Jewish people. His new found Nazism is mere Jew-hatred. Loving Hitler is a by product of that.
So here’s the interesting question: How is it that in 2025 a prominent Jewish actor, and a much loved celebrity, still can’t call Jew-hatred for what it is? Forever hiding behind “all communities”, and “the marginalised”. Oh David, they don’t hate you because you’re a minority; they hate you because you’re Jewish.
The answer can only be ignorance or fear, and I suspect it isn’t ignorance. Jews are still afraid to stand up for themselves. More to the point, the political climate doesn’t allow them to name themselves as the victim. It goes against the new rules of engagement: Jews are too white, and successful, and powerful to be victims. Period.
And honestly, who can blame him? You don’t have to be Jewish to suffer at the hands of online Jihadi warriors. Anyone from Justin Bieber to Helen Mirren to LeBron James now knows this, and a lot of them disabled comments on their accounts following October 7th.
So, what is this unforgivable Jew-friendly behaviour, you ask? Sharing the photo of a 5 year old girl stolen by terrorists. Signing a petition demanding the release of all hostages. Reminding the public that there are American citizens held by Hamas. Some even had the audacity to suggest that torturing a family on a facebook live stream is not such a great idea.
The Jewish community is right to feel alone in this. Jews from all walks of life all say the same: “we feel like we only have each other”. They’re right to feel alone when Michelle Obama says nothing for days following the October 7th massacres, and there was no “Bring Back our Girls” campaign for the Israeli girls; Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram – yes. Jewish girls abducted by Hamas – no. That’s what Jewish people see, and they’re right to feel betrayed.
And so back to Schwimmer, or Scwhimmy (as Gwyneth likes to call him), I do believe some “self-criticisms” are in order. You can’t expect the world to stand up for you, when you can’t even stand up for yourself. It’s time for prominent Jews to have enough self respect, and enough self confidence to call out Jew-hatred for what it is. If not now, when?