Sydney Schroeder discusses her concern for the Jewish community amid the controversial tweets from Kanye West.
Transcript
Brooke Dehn: Syracuse University’s Jewish community is fearful of antisemitic statements Kanye West has been saying. N-C-C News’s Sophia Maciejewski is live at Hillel, the center for Jewish life at the university.
Sophia Maciejewski: Antisemitic protests on the four-oh-five highway in California has caused a stir among students in Central New York. These behaviors were encouraged by West’s offensive tweets stating he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people”, an apparent reference to the military term “DefCom.” Sydney Schroeder, the president of Hillel, says people need to be made aware of the actions West has taken in order to prevent more dangerous situations.
Sydney Schroeder: Antisemitism is alive and well and kind of how scary that is. And how we need to have conversations as a university community, as a global community.
Maciejewski: Schroeder is from California and says she is nervous to return home where she may be exposed to these antisemitic behaviors.
Schroeder: It was really horrifying to see that in my city. I’m proud to be from California, but with stuff like that it’s just shameful and terrifying to know that I’m gonna be going back home to people who believe that, uhm, about me and they don’t know me.
Maciejewski: Jewish students have outlets such as Hillel and Chabad on campus if they need help. Live from Hillel, Sophia Maciejewski, N-C-C News.
Content Warning: This story contains mentions of antisemitic language.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Kanye West’s antisemitic tweets have evoked fear in the Jewish community at Syracuse University. Sydney Schroeder, an SU senior and president of Hillel, the center for Jewish life on campus, is concerned West’s actions may be irreversible and could lead to very dangerous situations, such as the protest on Interstate 405 in Southern California that occurred Monday afternoon.
“We need to be careful about the way we use our words. This rhetoric is dangerous and it should be called out,” said Schroeder. “It should be talked about with Jewish and non-Jewish friends. The long-term effect is if it’s not talked about, scarier things could happen and hate could spread.”