Los Angeles, CA – An antisemitic hate group was behind a banner hung over a busy Los Angeles freeway on Saturday saying “Kanye is right about the Jews,” watchdog groups said, after Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, made a string of antisemitic comments in recent weeks.
A number of people could be seen raising their arms in a Nazi salute as they stood behind the banner and another sign that read: “Honk if you know.” A third banner promoted a video platform that streams antisemitic content operated by the Goyim Defense League, a network of antisemitic conspiracy theorists.
StopAntisemitism.org, a non-profit group dedicated to documenting antisemitic behavior said the GDL was responsible for hanging the banners above Interstate 405.
The Anti-Defamation League in Southern California said in a tweet that the group responsible for the banner was “known for espousing vitriolic #antisemitism and white supremacist ideology.”
“Hate has no place in Los Angeles or elsewhere and these attempts will not divide us,” it said.
A number of high profile figures spoke out over the weekend against the recent rise in antisemitic discourse.
“Antisemitism in any form is deplorable. In person. Online. Doesn’t matter where. It’s hate and it’s unacceptable,” actor and producer Reese Witherspoon wrote in a tweet Sunday night.
“Completely understand why my Jewish friends/ colleagues are frightened for their families. This is a very scary time,” she said.
“I support my Jewish friends and the Jewish people,” comedian and actor Amy Schumer said in an Instagram post.
“L.A. is a city of belonging, not hate,” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti wrote in a tweet condemning “this weekend’s antisemitic incidents.”
“Jewish Angelenos should always feel safe,” he said. “There is no place for discrimination or prejudice in Los Angeles. And we will never back down from the fight to expose and eliminate it.”
