ADL Blasts Kyrie Irving: “The Answer To The Question ‘Do You Have Any Antisemitic Beliefs’ Is Always NO”

deadline.com:

One day after he issued a carefully-worded statement that stopped short of the words “I’m sorry” in relation to a link he posted to an antisemitic film, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving was asked at practice today whether he holds any antisemitic views. “Again, I’m going to repeat.

I don’t know how the label becomes justified because you guys ask me the same questions over and over again,” Irving said. “But this is not going to turn into a spin-around cycle — questions upon questions. “I told you guys how I felt.

I respect all walks of life and embrace all walks of life. That’s where I sit…I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from.” Asked directly for a “yes” or “no” answer to the question about his views Irving repeated, “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from,” evading a definitive “yes” or “no.” The “I know where I come from” part seems to be a reference to what the Anti-Defamation League describes as “the Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI) belief that certain people of color, including Black Americans, are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites.” That idea sits at the core of the film that Irving tweeted a link about last week, which set off the current media firestorm.

Per an ADL explainer posted today, “The film promotes beliefs commonly found among antisemitic and extremist factions of the BHI movement, including claims that modern Jews are imposters who stole the religious heritage of Black people and have engaged in a ‘cover-up’ to prevent Black people from knowing their ‘true’ identity.”The film #HebrewsToNegroes has been in the news recently, due in part to comments from @NBA star @KyrieIrving.