opinion
Comedians Are Capable of
Antisemitic Incitement. So Let’s
Take Dave Chappelle Seriously
By Manishtana
L 14
NOVEMBER 24, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Posters advertising a Netfl ix special by Dave Chappelle
line a wall in Midtown Manhattan, April 2017.

Trump’s popularity and appeal to his skill at being
an “honest liar.” Never before, said Chappelle, had
voters seen a billionaire “come from inside the
house and tell the commoners, ‘Inside that house
we’re doing everything you think we’re doing.’
And then he went right back inside the house and
started playing the game again.”
Chappelle took notes on Trump’s knack for saying
exactly what he means and telling people exactly
what he planned to do.

When Chappelle says there are two words you
should never say together — “the” and “Jews” —
he’s not speaking against antisemitic conspiracy
theories that treat Jews as a scheming monolith.

He’s insinuating instead that there is a “The Jews”
that should never be challenged. (Chappelle goes
on to repeatedly use the phrase “The Jews” in his
monologue.) The one time he uses “the Jewish com-
munity” is to introduce the straw man argument
that Black Americans should not be blamed for the
terrible things that have happened to “the Jewish
community” all over the world — a declaration
so baffl ing that only one person in the audience
responds. After all, no one was blaming West or
Irving, the NBA star who shared on Twitter a link to
a wildly antisemitic fi lm, for the terrible things that
happened to Jews. They were just being asked not
to promote the ideas of people who had done those
terrible things.

Also on full display is Chappelle’s deft, almost
“1984”-esque doublespeak. Chappelle notes that
when he fi rst saw the controversy building around
West’s antisemitism, he thought, “Let me see
what’s going to happen fi rst” — a strange and
telling equivocation. Chappelle diminishes the sig-
nifi cance of the fi lm shared by Irving, “Hebrews to
Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” by describing
it as “apparently having some antisemitic tropes
or something,” but then jokes that Irving probably
doesn’t think the Holocaust happened — a trope
presented in said movie.

Chappelle is reluctant to call Kanye “crazy” but
acknowledges he is “possibly not well,” but has
no problem referring to Georgia Senate candidate
Herschel Walker as “observably stupid.”
Ultimately and persistently, Chappelle suggests
Brecht Bug/Flickr Commons
ast week saw Dave Chappelle deliver a brilliant
monologue on “Saturday Night Live” addressing
the antisemitism controversies surrounding Kanye
West and Kyrie Irving.

Unfortunately, “brilliant” doesn’t inherently mean
“moral” or “good.” Chappelle’s monologue was a
masterclass in how to normalize and embolden
antisemitic discourse, delivered in plain sight and
with just enough “wink wink, nudge nudge” plau-
sible deniability — mixed in with a sprinkle of real
commentary — that one would easily almost not
realize that … wait, did Chappelle denounce any-
thing exactly?
He opened the monologue by pretending to read
from the kind of apology being demanded of Kanye
West, the rapper who in recent weeks had exposed
various antisemitic tropes. “I denounce antisemi-
tism in all its forms, and I stand with my friends in
the Jewish community,” Chappelle “read,” mocking
the boilerplate apologies that often arise in these
moments. At face value, it’s a great piece of satire.

But then he follows up with the punchline: “And
that, Kanye, is how you buy yourself some time.”
He isn’t holding West to account. He’s clearing
the way and setting the stage for the fi nest bout
of antisemitic dogwhistling probably ever featured
on “SNL.”
There is legitimate commentary to be made
about the often disproportionate and racialized
vitriol directed at Black Americans who engage in
antisemitism, coming from a society that revels in
Black pain and punishment. Jews of color, and espe-
cially Black Jews like me, have been addressing this
reality across social media for decades, noting the
lack of intensity and accountability when the shoe
is on the other foot — when Jewish fi gures espouse
anti-blackness. But this monologue by a Black comedian is mak-
ing no such argument. And it comes as more bold
and brazen bad-faith actors are acting out in more
and more violent ways. Comedians are just as capa-
ble of incitement as political fi gures.

Chappelle is wildly adept at structuring complex
jokes. For years he deftly delivered biting, raw and
real socio-racial commentary, from his standup
routines to “The Chappelle Show,” and since the
2000s has positioned himself as an astute teller
of hard truths. If you doubt the man’s intelligence,
watch what he does late in the “SNL” routine when
he talks about Donald Trump.

With backhanded praise, Chappelle attributes