Viral AI Video Against Antisemitism

A viral new video uses AI to show some arresting images: different Jewish celebrities modeling a tee-shirt featuring a hand giving Kanye West the bird.  One after the other, well known Jews – everyone from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to directors Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen, to actors Scarlett Johansson, Lisa Kudrow and Adam Sandler – appear, modeling the shirt.  Its concluding message: “Enough is enough. Join the fight against antisemitism.”

It’s a jarring video with a much-needed statement against Kanye West’s outrageous antisemitism. It’s also a highly problematic way of responding to antisemitism.

Kanye West’s Antisemitism

The AI video is reacting to last week’s bizarre Super Bowl commercial from Kanye West (or Ye as he is currently known. I think we should just refer to him using the label he recently called himself: The Nazi).  The 30-second primetime ad featured Kanye sitting in the back seat of a car, rambling that viewers should check out his website where they could buy all sorts of clothes and shoes. Shoppers could find only one item for sale: a tee shirt featuring a swastika. (Within days, Shopify, which hosted his website, disabled it.)

This outrage was just the latest example of Kanye’s public embrace of anti-Jewish hatred.  Last week, he posted “I’m a Nazi…I love Hitler” on X.  This is after issuing a series of anti-Jewish tweets in 2022, including declaring he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people….”  He is currently being sued by an unnamed employee who alleges he created a “relentless and deliberate campaign of antisemitism and misogyny” in his business.  (In the aftermath of his Super Bowl commercial, he’s been dropped by his talent agency, 33 & West.)

Intensifying Antisemitism

West’s open embrace of anti-Jewish hatred comes amidst an upsurge in antisemitism that’s putting Jews around the world on edge. In January 2025, the ADL found that nearly half of all people globally held antisemitic views: 46%, double the number of a decade ago.  Even more worryingly, younger people are significantly now more likely to hold antisemitic views than older people (50% versus 37%).  West’s doubling-down on antisemitism both reflects and drives the anti-Jewish prejudice that is increasingly fashionable among youth.

We’re witnessing a collision of traditionally “right wing” (fascist, Nazi) and “left wing” (anti-Israel) antisemitism, particularly amongst young people who are Kanye’s natural audience.  Anti-Israel feelings have risen sharply over the past year and a half: in 2024 the ADL found that 29% of young people globally have a positive view of the brutal terrorist group Hamas. In that same period, young people became much more likely to voice traditionally pro-Nazi sentiments, such as the canard that Jews cause all of the world’s wars.  Those who harbor strong anti-Israel views are 340% more likely to believe antisemitic statements; those who feel that Israel is an illegitimate country are 370% more likely than others to believe antisemitic misinformation.

“Antisemitic tropes and beliefs are becoming alarmingly normalized across societies worldwide,” explains Marina Rosenberg, Senior VP for International Affairs at the ADL.

Israeli AI Company

The anti-Kanye AI video was released on social media Tuesday, February 9, two days after his Super Bowl ad.  It’s the creation of Guy Bar and Ori Bejerano, who work together at an Israeli AI company.  Bar explained he created the video as a way of saying “enough is enough” and responding to today’s pervasive anti-Jewish hate.

It uses generative AI, a cutting-edge technology which creates lifelike images.  None of the celebrities in the 30-second video were asked for their permission to use their likenesses.  Though Bar insists none of the celebrities whose faces he and Bejerano used have complained to them, Scarlett Johansson has publicly called for laws against using AI without consent.  “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind,” she said in a statement decrying the “deep fake” video.  “…I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it.  We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”

Dangers of Using Other People’s Likenesses

Scarlett Johansson is onto a key Jewish idea.  Even though this cute AI video carries an important message, the dangers of using people’s likenesses – or implying that they said or acted in a certain way when they did not – are too important to ignore.

The Torah says, “Keep far away from falsehood” (Exodus 23:7).  It’s not enough to refrain from untruths: we’re commanded to stay away from anything that gives any kind of misleading statement. Perhaps that’s because it’s so easy to start rationalizing lies.  It’s tempting to justify the video as promoting the higher goal of attacking antisemitism.  Some might defend it by claiming it’s obviously a joke.  Yet the AI video carries no disclaimer that it’s not real. One teenager I spoke with assumed it was genuine.  Manipulating people’s images without their consent is a form of theft.

Even attributing a positive statement to another person when they did not make them is prohibited in Judaism (Berachot 27b).  As fun and well-intentioned as the AI video might be, it’s not the right forum for replying to West’s and other’s antisemitism.

What if the Video Were True?

Critics have pointed out that for many of the Jewish celebrities featured, this fabricated video is the only place they’ve publicly called out antisemitism.

Some of the celebrities have been active in attacking anti-Jewish hatred.  Actor David Schwimmer, for instance, recently begged X owner Elan Musk to ban Kanye West from his social media platform.  “We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate filled, ignorant bile,” Schwimmer posted, “but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk.  Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X.  That’s twice as many people as the number of Jews in existence.  His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews.”  (West’s X account was finally deleted on February 10, 2025.)

Yet many of the people depicted in the video have been silent over the past year and a half as antisemitism has exploded. Why?  What if they broke their silence and acted a little more in real life like they appear in this viral video?

The AI video shows some of America’s most influential figures, from AI pioneer Sam Altman, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Adam Sandler who has been conspicuously silent.

Imagine if every single Jew – including the famous and influential – would stand up against Kanye and other antisemites like him? What if we all used our platforms – at work, at school, on social media – to call out antisemitism whenever we see it?

Let’s take the current viral AI video’s message to heart and make this deep fake a reality.  Enough is Enough.  Join the fight against antisemitism.

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