Natalie Portman Speaks Out Against The 'Re-Emergence Of Antisemitism'

Natalie Portman is speaking up about the alarming trend of antisemitism in America today as more celebrities and other high-profile public figures join in perpetuating hate against the Jewish community. After drawing significant backlash for his antisemitic tweets last October — in which he threatened to go "death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE" — rapper Kanye "Ye" West continued to push anti-Jewish rhetoric by openly praising Adolf Hitler in a viral new interview. "Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler," Ye said (via Rolling Stone). "Also, Hitler was born Christian." He also publicly defended the Nazis, saying he doesn't like the word "evil" next to the fascist group. "I love Jewish people," he stressed. "But I also love Nazis."

Basketball star Kyrie Irving also recently drew ire and was suspended for promoting a film on Twitter that was criticized as antisemitic. When asked by the press whether he considers himself as one, the Brooklyn Nets star — who also lost his deal with Nike as a result of his controversial tweet — said (via NBC News), "I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That's where I sit." He later added, "I cannot be anti-semitic if I know where I come from." 

Now, Portman, a proud Jew, has broken her silence on the matter and issued a statement condemning the recent incidents of hate speech against her people.

On December 4, Natalie Portman took to social media to publicly denounce the apparent surge of antisemitism and share a strong message of support for her fellow Jews. In a since-viral Instagram post, she wrote, "Seeing the re-emergence of antisemitism makes my heart drop. This hatred must be combatted with boundless love for each other. Today, I send extra love to my fellow Jews. And I send love to all those standing with us against these violent words and actions." She added that the recent increase of hate has been "painful and frightening to listen to." "And I'm extremely grateful to those who continue to speak up against antisemitism with us, and against all forms of racism," she said.

On her Instagram Stories, the Oscar-winning actor also shared a link to a New York Times article reporting that Twitter has seen a 61% rise in antisemitic tweets since Elon Musk took over the social media platform. "These numbers are horrifying," wrote Portman. "This is not freedom." Musk has since denied the claims and said that hate speech impressions on Twitter (or a number of times a tweet is viewed) are lower "despite significant user growth." "Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom of reach. Negativity should and will get less reach than positivity," he tweeted, along with an image of a downward-trending graph. But, as noted by the New York Times, the Tesla founder did not explain exactly how he came up with those findings.