Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America
Directed byRonald Dalton Jr.
Written byRonald Dalton Jr.
Produced byRonald Dalton Jr.
Edited byCarl Jackson
Distributed byAmazon Prime Video
Release date
  • 20 December 2018 (2018-12-20)
Running time
208 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$8,000[1]

Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America is a 2018 film directed, written, and produced by Ronald Dalton Jr. The film espouses antisemitic messaging and spreads misinformation.[2] It contains antisemitic tropes, Holocaust denial, and claims of an international Jewish conspiracy.[3][4]

The film is based upon a book of the same name, also written by Dalton, that promotes Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs. It is homemade, low-budget, and existed in relative obscurity from the time of its release until October 2022.[5] That month, National Basketball Association player Kyrie Irving posted a link to it on his Twitter account and was subsequently suspended by his team, the Brooklyn Nets.[6]

Background

The film was homemade by amateur filmmaker Ronald Dalton Jr. on a reported budget of $8,000.[5][1]

Dalton claimed to have received "divine revelations" beginning around 2010.[7]

Synopsis

The film promotes false Black Hebrew Israelite beliefs that some people of color, including Black Americans, "are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites." One of the ideas shared in the film is that the Jews of today are not actual Jews and they culturally appropriated the religious heritage of Black people and then covered it up.[8] This claim has been debunked.[9][10]

The film is filled with antisemitism, including claims of an International Jewish conspiracy that aims to oppress and defraud Black people.[3][11] The film includes many antisemitic tropes, including claims of Jewish power and greed, claims that Jews control the media[8] and claims of Jewish Satanic worship.[12]

The film also uses quotes from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Henry Ford's The International Jew, Holocaust denial, attacks on Zionism, and conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family. The film also includes quotes attributed to Adolf Hitler that appear to be fabricated.[8] Another example is that the movie falsely attributes a quote to Harold Wallace Rosenthal about a Jewish conspiracy to control the media; the quote is from a fabricated interview with Rosenthal in the discredited pamphlet 'The Hidden Tyranny'.[13]

Controversy

Director Ronald Dalton Jr. in 2021

In October 2022, Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball player Kyrie Irving tweeted a link to Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.[6] In two news conferences after he made the tweet, Irving refused to apologize and declined to disavow antisemitism or the Hebrews to Negroes film.[14][15] On November 3, 2022, the Nets suspended Irving without pay. After his suspension, Irving tweeted an apology via Instagram, and agreed to donate "$500,000 to unspecified causes and organizations that combat hate".[14] The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rejected Irving's $500,000 donation; the group's CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said Irving had "failed at almost every step along the way to do the right thing, apologize and condemn antisemitism" and added: "We were optimistic but after watching the debacle of a press conference, it's clear that Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions."[16] Irving's suspension was lifted on November 20, 2022, after he issued an apology, condemned hate speech and antisemitism, and said he had meant no harm.[15]

In November 2022, major American Jewish organizations—including the ADL, American Jewish Committee, and Jewish Federations of North America—petitioned Amazon to stop distributing the Hebrews to Negroes book and film on its platform, writing, "By continuing to platform this film, and other clearly hateful content, Amazon is knowingly and willingly propagating antisemitism."[17][18] Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy later announced that the company would refuse to pull the film or book from its website.[19] The book had become a No. 1 seller in Amazon's "religion and spirituality" category.[18] Amazon has rules prohibiting "derogatory comments, hate speech, or threats specifically targeting any group or individuals"; the company maintained that the film had been reviewed prior to being made available on its site, but it declined to provide the details of that review.[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Schwartzel, Erich (November 4, 2022). "How an Amateur Fictional Documentary Got Onto Amazon Prime and Led to Kyrie Irving's Suspension". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ Deb, Sopan (November 17, 2022). "Kyrie Irving Could Return to the Nets Soon. A Top Jewish Leader Still Hopes to Meet Him". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 Deb, Sopan (October 30, 2022). "Kyrie Irving Defends Antisemitic Documentary and Conspiracy Theory". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  4. ↑ Reynolds, Tim (November 5, 2022). "Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout". ABC News. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Dart, Tom (November 5, 2022). "Kyrie Irving: NBA hero's suspension marks spectacular fall from grace". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Burke, Minyvonne (October 29, 2022). "Nets owner says he is 'disappointed' after Kyrie Irving appeared to promote antisemitic film". NBC News. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  7. ↑ Keene, Louis (November 15, 2022). "We watched the movie Kyrie Irving shared so you don't have to". The Forward. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Hebrews to Negroes: What You Need to Know". adl.org. Anti-Defamation League. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  9. ↑ Magary, Drew (November 3, 2022). "Kyrie's antisemitism non-apology is as empty as that stupid movie". SFGATE. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Radical Hebrew Israelites". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Jon, Blistein (October 29, 2022). "Kyrie Irving Boosts Antisemitic Movie Peddling 'Jewish Slave Ships'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  12. ↑ Saul, Derek (November 5, 2022). "Kyrie Irving Antisemitism Controversy: Nike Latest To Drop NBA Star". Forbes. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ Koreen, Eric (November 1, 2022). "Kyrie Irving needs to be held accountable for promoting anti-Semitism: Koreen". The Athletic. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  14. 1 2 Ganguli, Tania (November 4, 2022). "Nets Suspend Kyrie Irving Indefinitely After Antisemitic Movie Post". The New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Deb, Sopan (November 20, 2022). "Kyrie Irving Returns From Suspension". The New York Times. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  16. ↑ Reed, Alex (November 3, 2022). "Anti-Defamation League is rejecting Kyrie Irving's $500k donation". USA Today. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Jewish Communal Letter to Amazon Regarding Antisemitic Film Available on Platform". adl.org. Anti-Defamation League. November 21, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Brooks, Khristopher (November 4, 2022). "American Jewish Committee urges Amazon to pull antisemitic film Kyrie Irving promoted". CBS News. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ Serrano, Jody (December 1, 2022). "Amazon Won't Remove the Antisemitic 'Hebrews to Negroes' Film Promoted by Kyrie Irving". Gizmodo. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ Weise, Karen (November 6, 2022). "Amazon Considers Disclaimer to Antisemitic Film Irving Shared Online". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
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