Amazon has no plans to remove a controversial antisemitic video from its website, even after NBA player Kyrie Irving was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for supporting the film. According to recent statements from business CEO Andy Jassy, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake up Black America will continue to be available for purchase and renting on Amazon Prime Video.
Since Irving initially tweeted a link to it on Twitter in October, the video, which contains ideas about Jews dominating the media and claims that the Holocaust never occurred, has stirred up a storm of controversy. The preceding film and novel are still available on Amazon, and Jassy appeared to hint that they will remain there for the foreseeable future.
When asked about the film by Andrew Ross Sorkin at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday (November 30), Jassy did not confirm or deny if Amazon will continue selling the film and book, nor did she answer whether the business would include a disclaimer.
According to The Hill, Jassy stated, “We have hundreds of millions of clients with a variety of opinions.” He added, “And within the company, we won’t tolerate hate, discrimination, or harassment; however, as a retailer of content to hundreds of millions of customers with a variety of viewpoints, we must be willing to allow access to those viewpoints, even if they are objectionable or differ from our own.”
Sorkin revealed to Jassy during their talk that he is Jewish and had discomfort with the film.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t like it. He stated, “I am concerned about antisemitism.” “I am concerned about what we are witnessing across the nation and the world. I believe that some of it may not directly inspire violence, but might lead to it.”
Jassy responded that he, too, is Jewish, telling Sorkin, “I’m concerned about antisemitism, and I find numerous portions of that stuff to be really offensive, but I believe you must have values if you’re going to run something as enormous as what we do.”
Over 200 individuals from the non-profit Creative Community for Peace signed a statement urging Amazon and Barnes & Noble to remove the video and book from their websites last month. Mila Kunis, Debra Messing, and Mayim Bialik were among the signatories of the letter.
“At a time in America when there are more per capita hate crimes against Jews than any other minority, overwhelmingly more religious-based hate crimes against the Jewish people than any other religion, and more hate crimes against the Jewish people in New York than any other minority, where the majority of American Jews reside, it is unacceptable to allow this type of hatred to flourish on your platforms,” the letter states.
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