Singer-songwriter Sean Ono Lennon, son of famous Beatles founder who advocated to “give peace a chance,” unequivocally stood with Jews this week.
Amid the mounting din of Jew-hatred, Nazi-sympathizing, and Holocaust-denial among celebrities and their defenders, one well-known musician is standing strong with the Jewish people.
On Tuesday, Sean Ono Lennon, son of Beatles founder John Lennon and acclaimed artist Yoko Ono, posted clear statistics from the FBI showing the extent to which Jews are disproportionately targeted by hate crimes in the U.S. The statistics show that Jews are more than twice as likely to be targeted for hate crimes as Muslims, and close to three times more likely to be targeted than Blacks.
Along with these statistics, Lennon wrote, “A surprising number of people don’t even know that more hate crimes are committed against Jews than any other minority group. Racism in all forms is abhorrent and must be condemned. I don’t know if Ye truly understands how dangerous and evil his words were.”
The last sentence was a reference to celebrity Kanye West, who recently professed his love for genocidal monster Adolf Hitler, expressed deep admiration for the Nazis, blamed Jews en masse for his personal and financial troubles, and began consorting with Holocaust-denier Nick Fuentes, whom he brought to a dinner with former president Donald Trump.
While other high-profile celebrities, such as Kyrie Irving, have expressed support for the deeply antisemitic strains of the Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI) philosophy, others, such as Dave Chappelle, have publicly supported West or dismissed criticism of his statements.
In contrast, Lennon was unequivocal in his condemnation of antisemitism.
The public statements of people like West, Chappelle, and Irving were made in a climate in which Jews in New York City are the victims of a hate crime every 16 hours. These incidents range from vicious violent assaults to verbal onslaughts.
During the past several years, Jews have been gunned down in New Jersey and attacked with a machete in Monsey, with both atrocities perpetrated by BHI-linked murderers. There have also been mass shootings at synagogues in California and Pennsylvania.
On a daily basis, visibly Jewish individuals in major cities are harassed with slurs, stereotypes, and non-sequitur shouts of “free Palestine.”
In one of his recent posts on Twitter, Lennon stated, “Sadly antisemitism remains such a huge and growing problem, [West] promoting it is actually hurting the world in unthinkable ways.”
Unfortunately, Lennon knows a thing or two about pain and the dire consequences wrought by unhinged, hateful people. Lennon’s dad, John, was killed by a deranged fan on December 8, 1980 in New York City, leaving Sean to grow up fatherless.
The younger Lennon, however, followed in the footsteps of his famous father and older half-brother, Julian, pursuing a career in music, releasing his debut solo album “Into the Sun” in 1988 on the Beastie Boys’ boutiqueGrand Royal Records.
In addition to support from hip hop pioneers the Beastie Boys, all of whom are Jewish, Lennon received a hand on “Into the Sun” from then-girlfriend Miho Hatori of the Japanese group Cibo Matto.
Lennon has since released two additional solo albums, worked on two albums with Cibo Matto, and performed with his mother Yoko Ono and Les Claypool of the band Primus. Lennon continues to produce music for others and tour with Claypool.