David Schwimmer condemns the rise of antisemitism, criticizes Kanye West

David Schwimmer joins the other Hollywood celebrities in calling out Kanye West's antisemitism in a new Instagram post.

David Schwimmer (photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)
David Schwimmer
(photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE)

Actor David Schwimmer, best known for his previous role as Ross Geller in the American sitcom, Friends, posted an Instagram post that caught the eyes of thousands of people Tuesday.

With a black background and the word "bye" as the only visible thing on the post, Schwimmer condemned the rise of antisemitism across the globe and called out musician Kanye West.

"Antisemitism is on the rise globally," he stated. "Jews make up only 2.4% of the population of the United States but are the victims of more than 60% of all religious hate crimes, according to the FBI annual report.

"Whether or not Kanye West is mentally ill, there's no question he is a bigot," he continues. "His hate speech calls for violence against Jews. If you interpret his words any other way and defend him, guess what? You are a racist.

Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. (credit: RANDALL HILL/REUTERS)
Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. (credit: RANDALL HILL/REUTERS)

"If we don't call someone as influential as Kanye out for his divisive, ignorant and antisemitic words, then we are complicit. Silence is complicity."

Other celebrities who called out Kanye West

A few other Hollywood celebrities were among those who called out Kanye West. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, recently tweeted, "The holiest day in Judaism was last week. Words Matter. A threat to Jewish people ended once in genocide. Your words hurt and incite violence. You are a father. Please stop."

Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman also released a statement on her Twitter. "Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on Twitter and it's not even trending. Why do mostly only Jews speak up against Jewish hate? The silence is so loud," she wrote.

Josh Gad, Michael Rapport and others have posted to their Twitter accounts as well.

What did Kanye West tweet?

Twitter took down West's tweet for violating Twitter's rules. The tweet was a screenshot of a Forbes article about West getting his Twitter account back and him saying, "I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 [sic] on Jewish people"

West said that Jewish people were toying with him and those in opposition to their agenda.

West then claimed that he can't be antisemitic "because black people are actually Jews."

Michael Starr and Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this article.