Rapper Kanye West holds his first rally in support of his US presidential bid. Photo: Reuters/Randall Hill

Rapper and fashion designer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, said on Saturday that he likes Jews once more after watching a 2012 comedic film starring Jewish actor Jonah Hill, backtracking a comment he made on Twitter in October in which he threatened violence against the Jewish community and said he wanted to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE.”

“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump street made me like Jewish people again,” Ye wrote on his Instagram account, which was temporarily suspended because of his antisemitic tirade last year.

He further attempted to defend his comments from October 2022, saying: “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people. No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill I love you.”

The Heaven and Hell singer went on an antisemitic rampage last year beginning in October when he posted on Twitter that he wanted to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE,” a reference to the US military term defense readiness condition (DEFCON) that means having heightened readiness in the face of a threat. He received global condemnation for the comment, which also resulted in him being suspended from Twitter and losing his Yeezy business partnership with Adidas as well as brand partnerships with Balenciaga, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Vogue, GAP, Peloton and others.

The rapper later said that the tweet was directed at specific Jewish people he knew in the entertainment industry who angered him, according to JTA.

Shortly after his Twitter post he uploaded antisemitic tropes on his social media accounts, like sharing the image of a swastika intertwined with a Star of David, and shared antisemitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

On Dec. 1, the fashion mogul said multiple times during a three-hour appearance on the talk show Infowars, hosted by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, that he admired Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and disputed facts about the Holocaust. He explained, “I see good things about Hitler, also, every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler. I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis … Nazis are kind of cool.”

Ye, alongside white supremacist Nick Fuentes, also said on the show that people should “stop dissing the Nazis” and compared himself to Jews hiding in the Holocaust, claiming, “There are Jewish people basically hiding me under their floorboards right now. It’s like a reverse version of the Holocaust.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said last week that from October 11 through the end of 2022, it recorded 59 antisemitic incidents that directly referenced Ye, including 44 cases of harassment, 13 cases of vandalism and two cases of assault. White supremacist groups also made mention of Ye in their activities and distributed antisemitic propaganda during the last three months of the year, according to the ADL.