We won’t help save Wireless Festival by meeting Kanye West, say Jewish leaders

British Jewish groups have refused to meet Kanye West after the rapper offered to meet them ahead of his “dreadful” headline at Wireless Festival this summer.

Government ministers and Jewish groups said London festival organizers should be “ashamed” of inviting the US rapper to headline three days last year after he made a series of anti-Semitic statements.

This included releasing a song called Heil Hitler and advertising the sale of a swastika T-shirt on its website.

When tickets for his three Finsbury Park concerts went on sale, West said he wanted to speak directly to the UK’s Jewish community following calls for him to be banned.

But the Jewish Leadership Council almost immediately rejected the offer, telling organizers they would not help “save their festival.”

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Wes Streeting said the organizers of the festival in Finsbury Park should be “ashamed” for “showing a terrible error of judgment” in booking West to perform.

The health minister said West was “not headlining” at Wireless and slammed the organisers’ decision.

“These weren’t a few inappropriate comments, this was a pattern of behaviour,” he told Sky News. “Releasing a song called Heil Hitler, plastering this slogan on t-shirts, and then using bipolar disorder as an excuse.

“And when he realized the impact this was having on his reputation and career, he came forward with an apology, which has now been given fig leaf credibility by festival organizers who should be ashamed of themselves.

“So I was actually horrified.”

Ministers are currently reviewing Western permission to enter the UK after Sir Keir Starmer described the decision as “deeply worrying”.

Despite calls to reconsider booking from Jewish groups and major sponsors who withdrew their support, the festival defended its decision in a statement on Monday.

Melvin Benn, chief executive of Festival Republic, which backs Wireless Festival, said West’s comments were “disgusting” but “did not give him a platform to elevate ideas of any nature.”

Describing himself as a “forgiving person”, Benn said: “The intention is for him to come and perform. We are not giving him a platform to promote ideas of any nature, but only to perform songs that are currently being played on radio stations in our country and broadcast platforms in our country and that millions of people have listened to and enjoyed.”

But Mr Streeting criticized the statement, saying it showed “another appalling error of judgment” in an attempt to “give credibility” to the West.

The chairman of the Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was “time for Wireless to do the necessary and cancel an invitation they should never have offered.”

Responding to Mr Benn’s statement, Phil Rosenberg said: “After a week in which the Wireless Festival avoided any media coverage, this statement will not comfort many in the Jewish or other communities against whom the insults have been directed for much longer than Kanye West’s recent apology.

“There are two important facts: Kanye West is a self-proclaimed Nazi and Wireless could benefit financially from his performance.

“In fact, we note that Mr. Benn’s initial reaction to the idea of ​​inviting Kanye West was concern. This goes for us too.

“Kanye West may be on the road to health and recovery. We sincerely hope so. But the testing ground for that is no more than three days on the Wireless main stage.”

When tickets for the three concerts went on sale, West offered in a statement to meet with the British Jewish community before his show.

“I’ve been following the discussions around wireless and want to address this issue head-on,” he said.

“My sole purpose is to come to London and present a show of change that brings unity, peace and love through my music.

“I would be grateful for the opportunity to meet and hear from members of the Jewish community in the UK in person.

“I know words are not enough; I will have to show change with my actions. If you are open, I am here.”

Mr. Rosenberg added that the organization was “willing” to meet with West, but only if he agreed not to play the festival.

Pepsi and Diageo withdrew their festival sponsorships after West headlined and no brands appeared as visible sponsors on Wireless Festival’s official website on Monday evening.

Additionally, PayPal, the payment partner for the annual rap and hip-hop festival, will not be featured in any future promotional materials.

In January, West took out a full-page ad in the newspaper. Wall Street Magazine Apologizing under the title “To those I hurt.”

“I’m not a Nazi or an anti-Semite,” he said.

“I love Jews.”

In his letter, he said his bipolar disorder plunged him into “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Referring to this, Mr Streeting said he thought it was “appalling” that West used bipolar disorder to justify his actions.

Mr Streeting said on Tuesday: “The fact that Kanye West is using bipolar disorder to justify his actions, I think that’s equally appalling.”

He added: “I would ask people to consider: Does using bipolar disorder as an excuse to write and release a song called Heil Hitler and plaster it on T-shirts really justify that? Or is it an excuse to justify rotten behavior?”