White supremacist Nick Fuentes appeared on two episodes of the “Fresh and Fit” podcast on July 7 and shared antisemitic rhetoric to an audience of over 100,000 people. 

 

In the first episode, Fuentes praised Adolf Hitler and blamed the Jewish people for the murder of Jesus Christ. The hosts of the podcast played a sound effect of a cash register whenever someone brought up Jewish people, referencing the antisemitic association between Jews and money. In the second episode, Fuentes calls Hitler a “good guy” and said he “supports most of” what Hitler did. He also claimed the number of Holocaust deaths was exaggerated.

 

Fuentes was also named this week as the headline speaker for the Arizona College Republicans student organization’s annual convention on July 30. Other scheduled Republican speakers expressed frustration because they were not consulted about Fuentes. The convention venue, Hassayampa Inn in Prescott, Ariz., canceled the booking and the event currently has no location.

 

Many people condemned Fuentes’ rhetoric on the podcast and made clear he is not welcome in the Republican Party. Some also celebrated the hotel for backing out of the event.

 

 

Podcaster Elijah Schaffer has come under fire for antisemitic Twitter polls, asking his audience if they believe Jews control the world, are waging war on white society, and who is to blame for “destabilizing the West.” 

His first poll had nearly 100,000 respondents, with the majority agreeing that Jews control the world, and his second poll had over 60,000 submissions, with “Jewish Oligarchs” as the winning response. Schaffer then followed up his polls by asking his audience to share antisemitic conspiracy theories. Many users condemned Elon Musk for his management of Twitter allowing for polls like these to exist on the platform in the name of “free speech.” A few users made copycat polls to see if their followers would give similar responses.

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is announcing a partnership with the Shawn Carter Foundation to end book bans and censorship. This collaboration includes a mutual financial commitment of $500,000 to provide financial support and book donations to institutions nationwide targeted by book bans.

 

Just this past week, five books were banned from the Leon County Public Library in Florida due to a complaint from Moms for Liberty, a group advocating for parental rights. Books across the nation are being removed from libraries for discussing sensitive topics, including some depicting atrocities of the Holocaust. 

 

We’ve seen this happen before and what it leads to – in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and 40’s, books were banned from sale and were burned with celebration. Beginning in 1933 if books were written by anyone with Jewish heritage or if they were perceived to be aligned with communism or pacifism, they were banned and destroyed.

The Shawn Carter Foundation and FCAS aim to protect diversity of thought and preserve intellectual and creative freedom through their partnership. Beginning with the Brooklyn Public Library’s campaign Books Unbanned, the partnership will provide access to books contested by potential bans for young people to read without restrictions. Together, this collaboration will combat the increase in book bans and promote freedoms protected by the First Amendment.

 

A viral Tumblr post is trending for calling attention to fairy tale writers The Brothers Grimm’s antisemitism. 

 

Three of the brothers’ fairy tales included Jewish characters that relied on antisemitic tropes and constantly put the characters in dangerous situations. One story, The Jew in the Brambles, involves the torture of the Jewish character in a bramble of thorns until he gave up a sum of money which he stole. The brothers were German nationalists and praised German ethnicity to monarchs. During Adolf Hitler’s reign, the Nazis borrowed from famous Grimm fairy tales The Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella to use as propaganda to vilify Jews.

Fans of fantasy stories explained online how they can appreciate the Grimms’ overall impact on European literature while also acknowledging the Grimms’ antisemitism.

 

 

Actor Mel Gibson received backlash after attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight with former President Donald Trump and political advisor Roger Stone. 

Online conversations were focused on Gibson’s past antisemitism, including when he asked Jewish actress Winona Ryder if she was an “oven-dodger,” referring to escaping the Holocaust. His 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, was denounced by the Anti-Defamation League and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stating the screenplay was “one of the most troublesome texts, relative to anti-Semitic potential, that any of us had seen in 25 years.” Gibson also blamed Jews for war and verbally assaulted a Jewish officer during a drunken tirade in 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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