November 6, 2022 — New York
American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch today called on Amazon to immediately remove “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” a notorious antisemitic book and film that gained prominence when Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving shared on social media a link to it on the Amazon website. AJC has launched an online petition to Amazon “urging the swift removal of the film and book.”
“Effectively combating antisemitism requires corporate leaders to recognize what antisemitism is and to take firm action to confront it,” said Deutch. “Amid the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving’s sharing of a film filled with antisemitic tropes and Holocaust denial, it is critical that Amazon act quickly to remove this blatantly hateful material.”
As of November 6, the film and book were still available on Amazon for rent and purchase. It is the number one bestseller in Amazon’s Religion and Spirituality category and the number two bestseller in the online retailer’s Ethnic Studies category.
“Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” echoes a longstanding antisemitic accusation common among Black supremacists that claims “white” Jews are “not the real Jews” and terms the six million Jews murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust one of the “five major falsehoods.”
Previously, Amazon has admirably removed antisemitic hate from its site. They must do so again, as Amazon has a critical role to play in ensuring consumers are not exposed to hate-filled propaganda and misinformation.
In AJC’s recently released Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America, a section devoted to the corporate sector provides corporation leaders with the knowledge and tools to understand, respond to, and prevent antisemitism.
