"Lana Melman is a leader in combating the cultural boycott campaign against Israel."
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Greetings!
Some updates on artists, Israel, and anti-Semitism.
“Why’s it so hard to get cancel culture on the line when the problem is anti-Semitism?” actor
Josh Malina asked on Twitter.
The West Wing and
Scandal
star’s post came after several recent
reports
highlighting anti-Semitic social media posts by well-known figures, including NFL player
DeSean Jackson and rapper
Ice Cube. Jackson
tweeted out several anti-Semitic messages, including a quote he incorrectly thought was from Hitler stating that Jews had a plan to “extort America” and achieve “world domination” and Ice Cube tweeted out demonic images combined with the Star of David.
I think that the cancel culture, whereby people lose their jobs if they express a viewpoint that others think is offensive, is a dangerous and easily abused tool. Many people have suffered ruined careers for decades-old comments and others for relatively innocuous comments. The point made by Malina and others, however, is the noticeable double standard when it comes to anti-Semitism.
Although both Jackson and Ice Cube received backlash from critics, neither were threatened by loss of employment.
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I would like to thank the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for inviting me to speak at its June 28 Zoom Event starring Israeli violinist, Itamar Zorman.
Itamar is one of the most soulful, evocative artists of his generation, distinguished by his emotionally gripping performances and gift for musical storytelling.
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Abdul-Jabbar speaks up
NBA legend
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar addressed the lack of consequences for anti-Semitism in the sports world and Hollywood in a brilliant,
must-read, column for The Hollywood Reporter.
Abdul-Jabbar called out NBA player
Stephen Jackson for talking about the “Rothschilds owning all the banks” and his support for the notorious anti-Semite
Louis Farrakhan. He also chided actress/comedian
Chelsea Handler for sharing a video of Farrakhan with her social media audience of 4 million. Handler has since apologized and taken down the video.
“The lesson never changes, so why is it so hard for some people to learn: No one is free until everyone is free,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.
“As
Martin Luther King Jr. explained: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.’ So, let’s act like it. If we’re going to be outraged by injustice, let’s be outraged by injustice against anyone.”
Bravo!
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Madonna posts a Farrakhan speech on Instagram
Well, this one slipped through the cracks.
On July 4, Madonna posted a
VIDEO to her Instagram account that was a trailer for a speech by Farrakhan who has repeatedly bashed both gays and Jews. It has been viewed over 700,000 times.
While the nearly-two-minute clip shared by the singer previews a part of Farrakhan's speech that denounced racism in the United States, including police brutality and racism, the full speech contained antisemitic comments.
This is surprising given that Madonna is a frequent visitor to Israel, studies Kabbalah there and has ignored countless calls to boycott the Jewish state. She is also a high profile advocate for the LGBTQ community.
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Nick Cannon takes some heat
Actor, director, rapper, and TV host
Nick Cannon, however, paid a price for making anti-Semitic remarks in his YouTube podcast, “
Cannon’s Class.”
Cannon talked about “giving too much power to ‘the Zionists, the Rothschilds … the 13 families, the bloodlines that control everything even outside of America.”
ViacomCBS reacted swiftly firing Cannon from their series
Wild ‘N Out, saying “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism."
Cannon has since met with Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and apologized. “While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement.”
Fox Broadcasting, however, has announced that Cannon will remain the host of its series,
The Masked Singer saying
, “
Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends... We will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation... Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”
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"I am glad to discover this group, as I write a lot about BDS in general. Hats off to you, Liberate Art, just read one of your articles."
–
Barbara Kay, Journalist, National Post
Thank you all for your support.
Warm regards,
Lana Melman, CEO Liberate Art, Inc.
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