Antisemites and the Insincere Apology (Judean Rose)

Actor and Musician Jamie Foxx jumped on “The Jews Killed Jesus” bandwagon on August 4^th and on August 6^th he apologized. In so doing, he joined a club: that of the legions of celebrities who broadcast rude and blatantly antisemitic statements to their legions of followers after which they apologize. These celebrities have learned that you can say the worst antisemitic thing, as long as you apologize.

In case you missed it, here is what Jamie Foxx chose to post to his 16.2 million followers:

"They killed this dude name Jesus... What do you think they'll do to you???!" followed by the hashtags #fakefriends #fakelove

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A post shared by A Wider Frame (@awiderframe)

This post was then duly deleted by Foxx. Then, once he deemed enough time had elapsed to make it still seem sincere, Foxx apologized:

I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent.

To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with "they" not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended [three heart emojis]

Nothing but love always,

Jamie Foxx [heart, fox, and praying hands emojis]  

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A post shared by Jamie Foxx (@iamjamiefoxx)

Aniston, following in Foxx’s (antisemitic) footsteps, liked the screed about the people who killed Jesus, and then denied she had done so, or been antisemitic. No. Antisemitism makes her sick.  As per the Guardian:

“This really makes me sick,” said Aniston’s statement, which was posted on Instagram Stories. “I did not ‘like’ this post on purpose or by accident. And more importantly, I want to be clear to my and anyone hurt by this showing up in their feeds – I do not support antisemitism. And I truly don’t tolerate HATE of any kind. Period.”

So let me break this down for you, Foxx had a friend named Jesus who was killed by a fake friend who was not a Jew, chas v’shalom. Jamie is filled with nothing but love.

Aniston, meanwhile, seems to be vaguely asserting she was hacked, or perhaps the butler did it, while she, Aniston, was in the shower. In either case, the apology, or even the suggestion of one, even via a canned lawyer’s statement augmented by numerous emojis, is all that counts in the end. The calls of support came flowing in, suggests the Guardian, though that seems to require a generous interpretation of “numerous.” But they managed to dig up a court Jew, so that’s all right (emphasis added):

Foxx’s handling of the episode did earn him numerous supportive comments. Alongside the actor’s apology Saturday, music producer Breyon Prescott wrote, “Anyone that has been around you knows that you have no hate for anyone!!! … [You’re] the best, don’t let anyone make you think differently.”

The actor Porscha Coleman added: “People can’t even speak any more without someone being offended. You were clearly talking about someone you thought was a friend who turned out to be a backstabber … Society is so sensitive these days!”

And podcast host Mark Birnbaum, who is Jewish, wrote on Instagram that he found Foxx to be “the most inclusive non-antisemitic person out there”.

“He’s got nothing but love for everyone, including us Jews,” Birnbaum said. “Let’s move onto the next nonsensical story of the day.”

Other users remarking on Foxx also alluded to his prior displays of solidarity with the Jewish community. In 2017, he performed at a barmitzvah-themed birthday party in honor of the singer Drake as well as at a Jewish fan’s barmitzvah.

Oh, wow. He performed at a Bar Mitzvah. Clearly the guy loves Jews.

Look. We’ve seen this show before. We saw it with Ilhan Omar, how she “unequivocally” apologized after saying it’s all about the Benjamins and AIPAC, but essentially still saying the same thing: AIPAC wields problematic political clout. P.S. It doesn’t. 

Listening and learning, but standing strong 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/7TSroSf8h1

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 11, 2019

 Even self-perpetuating PA president Mahmoud Abbas did the antisemitic blurt out and apology thing while speaking to the Palestinian National Council. After saying crazy things like the Jews took money from Hitler to settle in Palestine, Abbas issued an “official” apology. From Ynet (emphasis added):

"If people were offended by my statement in front of the PNC, especially people of the Jewish faith, I apologize to them. I would like to assure everyone that it was not my intention to do so, and to reiterate my full respect for the Jewish faith, as well as other monotheistic faiths."

“If.” Get that? If people were offended. Especially Jews.

Kyrie Irving did the same thing. Tweeted an antisemitic documentary, and then apologized. But of course as he said, he was “unjustly” labeled an antisemite. And of course, the apology only came after he was suspended.

ViacomCBS cut ties with Nick Cannon after the latter said stupid stuff about Jews on a podcast. So Cannon apologized.

Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden issued an apology after footage was leaked of him saying horribly antisemitic things. From the Jerusalem Post (emphasis added):

In footage from a 2021 interview of Harden by the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine (OFIP) that recently surfaced and gained prominence, Harden stated that he has "asked many questions of Jewish neighbors here about how much longer we should put up with this, because if I were to name... the single greatest threat – the single greatest origin of violence in the Middle East – is unquestionably the State of Israel and the way in which they feel absolutely no shame in defying international law doing whatever they want."  

Harden also condemned antisemitism and said that manifestations of Jew-hatred in pro-Palestinian camps were unhelpful to the cause, but conditioned that "I can also understand from the pro-Palestinian standpoint how the barbarity and the scale of viciousness can lead someone to strike out with intemperate hateful language [!!] because of that real hurt where people are at."

But the guy apologized.

Last year I participated in an interview with the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine, where I spoke in a way that perpetrated an antisemitic stereotype towards Jewish neighbours.

I regret my choice of words. My full statement and apology is below. https://t.co/h6IPxjD68G

— Joel Harden (@JoelHardenONDP) November 20, 2022

Should we believe him? Only if you really, really want to, or perhaps share common cause with him in some completely different area as with RFK Jr. and Farrakhan.

The fact is there is no way to prove the sincerity of an apology. Lie detectors are easily fooled and the interpretation of body language is not an exact science. Some Jews would say that’s precisely why we should give these antisemites the benefit of the doubt. Others, like this writer, reject the apologies as a matter of course. It’s not just that the apologies are too well-timed, canned, or inadequate—it’s that it’s a matter of self-preservation.

Some say that the Jews never see the danger until the gates are closing and it’s too late. It’s the nature of nice, normal people to make the choice to always see things in a positive light. Jews may even tell you that benefit of the doubt is a Jewish value. But Judaism doesn’t tell us to be stupid. For a Jew, survival often means taking off the blinders that make us see benign intent where none is meant.