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Hate watchdog shortlists Kanye West for 'Antisemite of the Year' award

The rapper's fellow nominees include Mohamed Hadid and Neo-Nazi Jon Minadeo II

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Rapper Kanye West has been shortlisted for an “Antisemite of the year” award by an American non-profit organisation. 

The rapper, has made a string of antisemitic remarks in recent weeks and is currently set to win the title created by the StopAntisemitism charity. 

Last week, Mr West attended a dinner at the Florida home of former President Trump alongside far-right activist Nick Fuentes.

The 24-year-old blogger has previously denied the Holocaust and had demanded that Jews leave the US.

In October, Mr West tweeted what many considered to be an apparent death threat to Jews: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on Jewish people.  

“The funny thing is I actually can’t be antisemitic because black people are actually Jews also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” he went on.

Another nominee is Jordanian-American real estate developer Mohamed Hadid. Mr Hadid, who was born in Nazareth in 1947, is the father of American models Gigi and Bella Hadid.

He has suggested that Jewish people are responsible for issues with his personal finances and in an Instagram post to his 1.3 million followers in October, Mr Hadid compared Zionist Jews to Adolf Hitler.

"Hitler labeled the Jews as terrorists and the Germans believed and cowardly did the crime of the century, and the Zionists labeled the Palestinians terrorists in their own land. Fear no longer, the Zionists are the terrorist in our own land,” read the post.

American Neo-Nazi Jon Minadeo II was also nominated for the title, the first person to be shortlisted two years in a row. As the Kanye West scandal developed, the “Goyim Defense League” founder hung a banner over a Los Angeles motorway that read “Kanye is right about the Jews.”

In August the 39-year-old shared a photo of himself standing outside of the infamous Arbeit Macht Frei gate at Auschwitz while wearing a swastika necklace and holding a sign that read “Greenblatt suck 6 million d**ks”.

StopAntisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez said ahead of the competitioon: "Though these three men promote antisemitism from three different directions, they are equally dangerous. 

“Together, they have all been a catastrophe for the well-being of Jewish people in the United States in 2022. There are no Jewish safe spaces. The current state of Jew hatred is running rampant with no end in sight."

The winner of "Antisemite of the Year 2022” will be announced on 11 December.

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