Antisemitic claims by stars not only hurtful but false

Did you hear about the Jews? They financed the slave trade. They worship Satan. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving tweeted support for a 2018 film that made these claims. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is another purveyor of antisemitic nonsense. To say these buffoons hurt people gives them more credit than they deserve. The real problem with their words is that they’re lies. The only thing everybody can do is to call them out. And that will require facts, not feelings.

Saying that these falsehoods are hurtful does nothing to dispel them. Only truth can do that.

Jonathan Zimmerman Education and history instructor at the University of Pennsylvania