Los Angeles / London / Jerusalem – Sunday, July 26, 2020
(Jerusalem, July 26, 2020) – In the wake of the antisemitic Twitter storm by UK ”grime rapper” Wiley (aka Richard Kylea Cowie Jr.), StandWithUs will be joining with prominent voices on Twitter, including British actor Tracy-Ann Oberman for a 48-hour walkout from the social media platform. This represents the 48 hours it took for Twitter to take action against Wiley’s antisemitic tweets. The walkout begins at 9am on Monday, British Standard Time.
Wiley’s dozens of antisemitic posts included a call for gun violence against Jews. He tweeted, “Hold some corn Jewish community you deserve it.” The phrase “hold some corn” is often used as slang for being shot. In another tweet he compared Jews directly with the viciously antisemitic and anti-Black Ku Klux Klan. In another he referred to Jews as “cowards” and “snakes.”
“Twitter has been and should be a powerful force for good in our world. It can give voice to the voiceless, help bring democracy to those in dictatorships, and amplify ideas that unite us,” said Michael Dickson, Executive Director of StandWithUs Israel. “Instead, Twitter has allowed antisemitic statements, calls for violence against Jews and ‘dog-whistle’ antisemitism to fester and spread. This is about much more than one individual’s hateful rants. We are joining this initiative to say loudly and clearly: enough is enough. Antisemitism is not a second-class form of racism; it is to be taken seriously and acted against. Antisemitism is deadly.”
StandWithUs will continue to fight antisemitism from all sources and sides of the political spectrum, and support unity against all forms of hatred.
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About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, non-profit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters, and programs on 5 continents, including the U.S., Israel, UK, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.
For the last 7 years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator (4 stars) and Guidestar (Platinum).
www.standwithus.com and www. facebook.com/standwithus and www.twitter.com/standwithus
