Rapper Jay Electronica called Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of global social action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a “coward” and a “devil” following the rabbi’s appearance last week on the podcast hosted by Nick Cannon, who apologized for the second time for making anti-Semitic comments on an episode last month of his online show.
“Rabbi Abraham Cooper is a COWARD who LIED to our brother Nick Canon about the history of the caucasian [sic] race. Ask him does he stand behind the VILE TEACHINGS of the Talmud? Don’t be a coward next time Cooper you DEVIL,” posted Jay Electronica in a series of anti-Semitic tweets on July 25.
Jay Electronica, whose real name is Timothy Thedford, also tweeted in support Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has an extensive history of anti-Jewish rhetoric.
“Sit down w The Hon. Louis Farrakhan or The Exec Council of The NOI and defend your claims and prove us wrong. WE are INDEED THE TRUE Children of Israel. And you are an imposter and birthright stealer as described in the scriptures. The ADL, THE WEISENHALL CENTER... BRING EM OUT,” he tweeted.
“We DEFY you to challenge us on these claims publicly. You LYING antisemites,” added Jay Electronica, who also recommended reading Farrakhan’s The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.
The rapper subsequently posted tweets that included links to pages on the Nation of Islam website, including one titled “The Simon Wiesenthal Center: A House Built on Lies”; a post that reads, “ps, to my Christian family, do you know what the talmud says about Jesus and His Mother? also, what is a Goy?”; and a post with citations from the book of Revelations, Revelation 2:9 and Revelation 3:9.
Revelation 2:9 states, “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” ... They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.”
Revelation 3:9 reads, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
When asked by JNS, Cooper declined to respond directly to Jay Electronica, saying, “I’m not the issue.”
Cooper said that he warned Cannon to “get ready for the blowback” following his apology to the Jewish community, citing NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s column in The Hollywood Reporter that called out the anti-Semitic posts made by Ice Cube and Philadelphia Eagles player DeSean Jackson.
Abdul-Jabbar received backlash for the piece, including from Ice Cube, who tweeted, “Shame on the Hollywood Reporter who obviously gave my brother Kareem 30 pieces of silver to cut us down without even a phone call.”
Cooper remarked that he is used to receiving backlash, saying that while “it’s not pleasant,” it is “important” for the black and Jewish communities “to sort of deal with reality and deal with the implications of that much hatred.”
