Famous American singer/songwriter Madonna posted a clip from Nation of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan's July 4th speech last month, a public figure known for his rife antisemitism.
Madonna posted the clip on her Instagram account, that up until now has garnered over 710,000 views. While the nearly-two-minute clip shared by the singer previews a part of Farrakhan's speech that denounced racism in the United States, including police brutality and racism, the full speech contained antisemitic comments.
During his three-hour July 4th speech, Farrakhan, 87, repeated a criticism of Jews, who he said had supplanted the Torah with the Talmud. “They made that word in their minds and in their believers’ minds greater than God’s word,” he said.
In addition, he said, “They tell lies to make you think I am a bigot or antisemite, so that you won’t listen to what I’m saying. So far they’ve been pretty successful."
Farakhan added that he harbored no ill will toward Jews. “If you really think I hate the Jewish people, you don’t know me at all,” he said. “[I’ve never] uttered the words of death to the Jewish people.”
Yet, Farakhan has repeatedly throughout the years been reported to have made several antisemetic comments.
He has praised Adolf Hitler, repeated longtime stereotypes about Jewish global control and manipulation, referred to Jews as “termites”, called Jews "stupid" and repeatedly denounced what he calls the “Synagogue of Satan.”
It has yet to be made public as to whether Madonna posted the video aware of the Minister's ties to antisemitism. However, in the past, Madonna has shown a strong affiliation with the Jewish people.
Madonna, who was born into a Catholic family, has stated that she doesn't have a particular religious background, and instead chooses to practice different rituals various religions which includes Judaism.
In a 2015 article with Ireland's The Independent, Madonna elaborated on her ties to the religion. She said that she studies Kabbalah, has given her son a bar mitzvah and observes Shabbat, yet she's not interested in converting. She's also been known to observe Tisha b'av as well as Tu Bishvat, and in 2018 reportely searched for a cook that knew how to cook kosher food.
In 2019 Madonna chose to perform in the 2019 Eurovision grand final in Tel Aviv, even fter BDS activists called on her to refrain from doing so. During her performance, for which the singer was paid $1.3 million, two dancers appeared on stage with flags emblazoned on their backs, one flag Palestinian and the other Israeli.
Shortly after the contest ended, the EBU made it clear that the appearance of the Palestinian flag was neither sanctioned nor pre-approved, and later said that the "The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event," to which Madonna replied "a message of peace is not political."Marcy Oster/JTA contributed to this report.