Hosting a Kanye West concert at SoFi Stadium has been deemed a provocative move by politician and advocate Sam Yebri, who claims it is a blatant disregard for the Jewish community in Los Angeles.
West announced his upcoming performance at the sprawling Southern California venue, set for April 3, through a social media post on Monday. This marks the 48-year-old rapper’s return to live performances in Los Angeles after a five-year hiatus.
The announcement, however, has sparked outrage among the Jewish community, given West’s history of making antisemitic remarks. Yebri, a Jewish advocate and former city council candidate, voiced his discontent to The California Post, stating, “By hosting a concert for Ye, SoFi Stadium is ignoring the harm caused by his years of hate-filled rhetoric and Nazi-inspired music.”
Yebri further criticized the stadium’s decision, saying, “Events require venues, and venues have choices. SoFi’s decision is deeply disappointing. Would they also host a neo-Nazi rally or an ISIS convention?”
He went on to express that unless West uses this concert as a platform to apologize for his offensive remarks, anyone attending the event is complicit in endorsing his behavior.
The former city council candidate said unless West planned to use the concert to apologize for the his hateful comments, anyone who attends the event is no better than the rapper.
“Unless Ye is planning to use his concert to apologize, heal wounds, and disavow antisemitism, everyone who attends is supporting and normalizing anti-Jewish racism.”
A spokesperson for the Anti Defamation League said an apology to the Jewish people was definitely in order given Ye praised Adolf Hitler, called himself a Nazi, and denied that antisemitism is real.
“Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism – the antisemitic ‘Heil Hitler’ song he created, the hundreds of tweets, the swastikas and myriad Holocaust references – and all of the feelings of hurt and betrayal it caused,” the ADL spokesperson said.
“The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behavior in the future. We wish him well on the road to recovery.”
The musician has a history of making antisemitic remarks. He was named 2022’s Antisemite of the Year by the group StopAntisemitism.
The group cited West’s post from October of that year in which he said he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people” and repeated statements that he was being controlled by Jewish executives.
In January, Ye took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal and addressed his past actions including selling a t-shirt with a swastika, claiming he did so due to his bipolar disorder, Page Six reported.
West recently apologized for his “reckless” behavior over the last few years, and wrote that he “said and did things” that he deeply regrets.
“It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” West declared, at one point in the lengthy open letter.
The SoFi show comes out ahead of the release of his upcoming album “Bully” due out later that month.
The California Post reached out to SoFi Stadium for further comment.
