Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said in an NBC interview that while having positive impacts, the internet age also comes with the curse of polarization.
Antisemitism is “the oldest hatred,” but the internet is making it worse, Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, December 4, in an interview with NBC, reports the Politico.
“It’s the oldest hatred, as I say, one of the oldest hatreds of humanity. It was wrong then; it’s wrong now,” Netanyahu told host Chuck Todd. “But it’s got an extra life probably in the United States and other countries by the age of the internet.”
The prime minister-designate was responding to a question about the recent behaviour of former President Donald Trump, who dined with the white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West late last month, amid the recent storm of antisemitic and hateful expressions of prominent public figures in the United States.
Both Fuentes and Kanye West have recently made a litany of antisemitic statements, along with other figures, including basketball star Kyrie Irving.
“There are many, many blessings of the internet age, but it also comes with a curse. And the curse is polarization,” Netanyahu said. “In the case of antisemitism, it’s the melding, the fusion of the antisemitism from the extreme radical left with the extreme radical right.”
Netanyahu called Trump’s dinner “unacceptable,” even as he expressed support for Trump’s policy decisions as president. Leaders are constantly “balancing interests with values,” he said. “I hope he sees his way to staying out of it and condemning it,” Netanyahu said of Trump.
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