It was thrilling to see Jewish stars standing up to Kanye West – if only they had really done it

A few people were naïve enough to fall for the AI video starring a collection of famous Jewish people wearing t-shirts aimed at Kanye West with a hand sporting a middle finger and a star of David, following the disgraced rapper’s latest antisemitic outburst.

These people were thrilled to see Jews finally hitting back following the latest example of the tsunami of hate we’ve been dealing with since October 7, 2023. The video, to the tune of Hava Nagila, features actress Scarlett Johansson and rapper Drake, Friends stars David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow, Jack Black, Sacha Baron Cohen, Steven Spielberg and Mark Zuckerberg among others all showing they were unambiguous about fighting antisemitism after West’s two-day social media rant, in which he said loved Hitler while advertising a T-shirt he was selling featuring a swastika.

But it wasn’t just the fact that Steven Spielberg has an extra finger or that Sacha Baron Cohen looked suspiciously young that made it obvious to me that this was a deepfake. It was the fact that, in real life, so few celebrities are willing to make even a ripple of sound about what has been happening.

Yes, some of those featured such as Gal Gadot, David Schwimmer and Jerry Seinfeld have spoken up. But the sad fact is Hollywood Jews have stayed more schtum about this rising wave of anti-Jewish hatred than a butcher at a vegan conference.

Yet they must see what we all see. They must know how important their voices could be.

I know some of them are frightened. There is the physical fear of standing up and becoming a target. This could mean not just social media hatred but also death threats aimed at them and their family members. We know some on the other side are frighteningly unhinged and dangerous.

There is also the fear – for some of them at least – that they will find themselves cancelled, suddenly unemployable, fighting boycott bans.

But some of them are among the most powerful figures in the entertainment industry and, if they don’t speak up, they are sending a message that no one should. No Jewish celebrity has yet been cancelled for standing up against antisemitism but I know plenty of people in real life who have; just this week I have spoken to a doctor and a teacher both having to fight for their careers after they were targeted by antisemites.

I can see why people desperately shared the AI video in the hope that it heralded a change in tack from our famous people – that it did that brave thing in asking people to fight hatred. Because we are desperate and that is why we are clinging on to the celebrities who are signalling bravery; from actor Jason Isaacs daring to sport a hostage pin at the premiere of his show White Lotus to comic Michael Rapaport and musician David Draiman’s tireless calling out of antisemitism.

The clip, which thrilled so many, simply made me sad. It is a fake and I am not surprised that Scarlet Johannson spoke out against it (while also saying, ‘I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind’) because of its use of her face without permission.

It showed us what could have been if a few more celebrities dared to put their heads above the parapets in real life.