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Local Jewish leaders condemn Ye after rapper praises Hitler in interview with Alex Jones

Kanye West's Donda Academy abruptly shuts down amid repeated antisemitic comments
Kanye West's Donda Academy abruptly shuts down amid repeated antisemitic comments 01:08

Amid a series of antisemitic comments in recent weeks, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, praised Hitler in an interview Thursday with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Leaders in the Los Angeles Jewish community said this kind of hate speech can lead to violence. 

"It's the most frightening thing," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "This is happening in the greatest country on the planet." 

During an interview on the show InfoWars, a masked Ye said Jewish people 'are not going to tell him who to love.' 

"I see good things about Hitler also," said Ye. "Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler." 

When Jones brought up Nazis, Ye said, "They did good things too, we have to stop dissing the Nazis all the time." He went on to say he did not like the word 'evil' next to Nazis. 

"I do love Hitler," Ye said. "I do love the Zionists. I love everyone." 

Thursday evening, Elon Musk tweeted Ye's Twitter account was suspended for violating the company's rules against incitement to violence after an antisemitic tweet. 

The rapper's comments led to his suspension from social media platforms, his talent agency dropping him and a handful of companies like Adidas cutting ties with him. Adidas has also launched an investigation into his conduct. 

Several former Yeezy employees of the sportswear company alleged that Ye created a toxic work environment by showing sexual photos and videos in meetings, making vulgar comments and bullying the people who worked for him. All the former employees spoke to Rolling Stone Magazine on condition of anonymity.

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