opinion
A Rock Star Channels Jewish
Outrage at Antisemitism
By Eric Fusfi eld
Sharononthemove / WikiCommons
T he antisemitic utterances of Kyrie Irving
and Ye (formerly Kanye West) prompted
condemnations from many celebrities, both those
with Jewish backgrounds and those who weren’t
Jewish but who issued solemn pledges of support
for their Jewish friends and colleagues.

Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon went
as far as to tweet, “This is a very scary time,” to
which one follower chimed in with an anti-Israel
rejoinder. Solemnity, however, unexpectedly yielded to
outrage at the annual Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles. What
was no doubt expected to be one of the eve-
ning’s least momentous junctures, the honoring
of lawyer-agent Allen Grubman, turned into a
consciousness-raising session when rock star John
Mellencamp took the stage for a profanity-laden
introduction speech.

“Allen is Jewish, and I bring that up for one rea-
son,” Mellencamp said. “I’m a gentile, and my life
has been enriched by countless Jewish people.”
Mellencamp then turned it up a notch. “I cannot
tell you how f***ing important it is to speak out if
you’re an artist against antisemitism,” he continued.

“Here’s the trick: Silence is complicity. I’m standing
here tonight loudly and proudly with Allen, his
family and all of my Jewish friends and all of the
Jewish people of the world. F*** antisemitism!”
Whoa. What was surprising about Mellencamp’s speech
was not his principled stance, but the sheer indig-
nation and the unbottled emotion that gave voice
to it. For millions of Jews who have fearfully
observed the growing normalization of antisemitic
motifs in today’s popular culture, such a righteous
outburst was surely a welcome surprise, but it
begged a question for the entertainment industry:
“Where have you been until now?”
We sometimes temper our responses to hatred,
perhaps out of decorum, perhaps out of a sense
that there may be worse injustices that merit
greater attention and outrage. For a culture that
rightfully decries racism and off enses against other
marginalized groups, hatred and discrimination
toward Jews sometimes receive less opprobrium
than the world’s oldest and most persistent social
illness warrants.

Some of this is undoubtedly due to the popular
conception of Jews as a white, privileged group
undeserving of victim status. Another contributor is
the prevalent, but demonstrably false, notion of the
Singer-songwriter John Mellencamp
We sometimes temper our responses to hatred,
perhaps out of decorum, perhaps out of a sense
that there may be worse injustices that merit
greater attention and outrage.

Jewish state as a white, colonial settler project whose
central aim is to displace an indigenous people.

But the mainstreaming of antisemitic attitudes
plays a clear role as well. This is why the antisem-
itism and anti-Zionism of celebrities has proven so
insidious. Whether it’s in response to Mel Gibson,
John Cusack, Roger Waters, Ye, Irving and even
U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib
(D-Mich.), the objections have been somewhat
muted in proportion to the danger that antisemitic
pronouncements by celebrities presents.

Polite tweets and affi rmations of support for
the Jewish community have been the norm among
those who have registered objections. But antise-
mitic sentiments, like those expressed by Ye and
Irving, persist in the public realm.

Enter John Mellencamp. As rock music critic Greil
Marcus once wrote, rock and roll is not a “polite,
quiet, cerebral” art form. “If you’re reading a news-
paper, that music says, put it down, listen to me.”
If someone is going to deliver the passion that the
fi ght against antisemitism requires, it might as well
be a rock star, then.

At a time of rising antisemitism, Jews need allies.

Particularly helpful are allies with high visibility
who can turn the dial on the outrage machine to a
volume at which it can be heard by Jews and non-
Jews alike.

Jews are vexed, fearful and angry at the antisem-
itism that has manifested itself across the political
and social strata and injected itself into the popular
culture. On a night in Los Angeles before a national
television audience, Mellencamp channeled our
indignation and used his platform to spread it. Will
other celebrities follow? JE
Rabbi Eric Fusfi eld is B’nai B’rith International’s
director of legislative aff airs and deputy director of
its International Center for Human Rights and Public
Policy. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
15