There are reports that Kanye West is planning a trip to Australia to Bianca Censori – an Australian and Yeezy employee he is rumored to have “married” in an unofficial ceremony earlier this month.
A few Australian media reported that West would visit the country to meet the Censor family, who hail from Melbourne.
However, Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Jewish-Australian Anti-Defamation Commission, called for West to be banned from entering the country over his spate of anti-Semitic remarks in 2022.
According to a statement given to NME today (January 23), Abramovich and the Anti-Defamation Commission, founded by Anti-Defamation League founder B’nai B’rith to combat anti-Semitism in Australia, are calling on Australian Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to use its powers to deny the West entry to Australia.
Pursuant to Section 501 of the Australian Migration Law, a foreign traveler’s visa may be refused or may be canceled due to a so-called “character check”. As a rule, visitors can be considered to have failed the reputation check if, among other possible criteria, your past and present behavior has resulted in the Immigration Minister considering you a ‘bad person’.
West’s anti-Semitic statements last year, according to the Anti-Defamation Commission, would have meant failing the so-called character test. In particular, they point out that in October, West tweeted that he would “commit a third hoax against Jews.” This tweet led to the temporary suspension of West’s Twitter account.
The organization also cited West’s October interview on Revolt TV’s Drink Champs channel, in which he made remarks about the “Jewish media,” saying Jews “have a black vote” and are “going to take us and milk us [until] we are dying.”
They also quoted of West an InfoWars interview by Alex Jones last month in which he praised Adolf Hitler, said “I’m a Nazi” and denied the Holocaust, falsely claiming it was “factually untrue” that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
After the interview, West tweeted an image of a swastika in the Star of David, while his Twitter account was immediately blocked for violating Twitter’s rules against incitement to violence.
“Calls to violence and hatred must have consequences and Australia must not roll out the welcome mat and provide a platform to a hatemonger who spews threats against the Jewish community and spreads conspiratorial myths of Jewish power, greed and control,” Abramovich said .
“Kanye is a straight man antisemite no embellishment, a lover of Nazism and a Hitler fan who openly admired the evil tyrant responsible for the extermination of six million Jews, including 1.5 million children,” he continued. “This kind of rhetoric is dangerous and has real consequences, given this man’s more than 30 million followers who may come to believe that he is demonizing the Jewish community and that they need to act.”
“Having Kanye in Australia would also send the wrong message to our nation and undermine our core values of tolerance, diversity and respect.” At a time of rising anti-Semitism in Australia and increasing defamation, his presence in the country, vile anti-Jewish propaganda and incitement and vile rhetoric pose a significant risk to the Jewish community.
of West antisemitic The remarks provoked a strong backlash last year and led to professional consequences, such as Adidas ending Yeezy’s longtime partnership with the rapper, calling his actions “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous.” Balenciaga severed its relationship with West, its Yeezy products were removed from Gap stores where they were previously stocked, athletes Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald left their agency Donda Sports, and his Donda Academy closed.
West’s colleagues also condemned him after his words. Pusha T the longtime co-creator called his comments “very disappointing,” and high-profile figures such as John Legend, ex-wife Kim Kardashian, Eric Andre, Howard Stern and Diddy spoke out about West’s comments.
