What is Raelism? Kanye Star of David with Swastika logo sparks online debate
Kanye West landed in hot waters once again after posting an edited image of the Swastika logo inside the Star of David. He posted the image just hours after publicly sharing his admiration for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during an appearance on Alex Jones’ Infowars.
Reports suggest that the image was posted from a laptop and created using the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. Kanye shared the photo with a caption that read:
“YE24 LOVE EVERYONE #LOVESPEECH.”
The shocking tweet came after West told Alex Jones that “Nazis are, like, kinda cool” while also saying that he loves everyone, including the Jews:
“I love everyone, and Jewish people are not gonna tell me ‘You can love us and you know what we’re doing to you with the contracts, what we’re pushing with the p*rnography.’”
Meanwhile, he also said claimed “the Holocaust is not what happened” and praised Hitler for the modernization of communication and transit:
“This guy that invented highways, invented the very microphone I use as a musician. You can’t say out loud this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
In the wake of Kanye West's bizarre interview, the image that he post had people thinking that he attempted to show unity between Jews and Nazis, and his love for both.
While the Swastika symbol was adopted by the Nazis and used in the party's flag, the Star of David symbol was largely adopted by the Jews in the 19th century. It was adopted as an emblem of Judaism and representation of peace and harmony.
Kanye's post also sparked a debate online as many condemned the disturbing image. Others, meanwhile, claimed that the Swastika placed within the Star of David was just a copy of the logo of Raelism, a UFO religion and alleged alien cult.
Kanye West's tweet was later removed from Twitter for violating the rules of the platform.
Everything to know about Raelism
Raelism is the name of a "UFO religion" that was founded in 1970s by former French journalist and pop star Claude Vorilhon aka Rael. Followers of the religion define it as a “new religious movement” and believe that humans were sent on Earth as an experiment by aliens.
According to Raelism's beliefs, humans were created using advanced technology by an extraterrestrial species known as the Elohim. Believers of the religion also claim that Elohim was mistaken for the gods mentioned in history.
They also believe that Elohim created forty human hybrids who have previously served as prophets on Earth. These include Jesus, Buddha and Muhammad, as well as Rael himself, who was allegedly the fortieth and final prophet.
Rael first published his claims about Elohim and the “atheist religion” in his 1974 book Le Livre Qui Dit La Verite and established the MADECH organization to promote his ideas. He later replaced the organization with the Raelian Church.
In 1997, Rael began working towards establishing the Clonaid organization that researched human cloning under the direction of senior Raelian Brigitte Boisselier. The company made news in 2002 after it claimed that it had successfully created a human clone baby named Eve.
Raelism also argues that humanity should use new scientific and technological development for peaceful purposes and believes that once that goal is achieved, Elohim will return to Earth to share their technology with humanity and create a utopia.
Glenn Carter, President of the British Raelian Movement, spoke to Vice about their religion and said:
“The only difference between us and anybody else is that we believe all life was created by the Elohim, who were extra-terrestrials visiting Earth from another planet. The rest of our behaviour is the same as any other human being, or group.”
Reports suggest that the Raelians are allegedly building an embassy for the Elohim, which includes a landing pad for their spaceship. In addition to their beliefs, Raelism has also garnered attention for promoting causes like women’s and LGBT rights and protests against nuclear testing.
Raelians formally functions under the International Raelian Movement (IRM) or Raelian Church.
Twitter reacts to Kanye West’s Star of David with Swastika logo
Kanye West has continued to make news ever since he wore his White Lives Matter T-Shirt to Paris Fashion Week and consistently shared anti-Semitic statements on social media. He even launched a presidential campaign for the 2024 US elections.
More recently, the rapper came under fire once again for posting a photoshop image of the Swastika logo inside the Star of David symbol. He did so shortly after praising Hitler and sharing his love for both Nazis and Jews during an appearance on Infowars.
Kanye’s post also sparked debate on social media as many took to Twitter to react to the shocking image. While some condemned the musician for the bizarre imagery, others argued that the image was a copy of the Raelism logo.
As reactions continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if Kanye West will address the image controversy in the days to come. The post has since been removed from Twitter for violating the platform's rules.
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Barsha Roy