Cannon began the post saying that he had engaged in "a full day of fasting, meditation, study and prayer" for Tisha B'Av. He then launched into his review of Weiss' book.

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"The words that stood out to me were 'Anti-Semitism is fueled by the malicious but often feeds on the ignorance of the well-intentioned,'" wrote Cannon. "[I'm] asking myself, is she talking about me? Knowing that my intentions have never been hateful but recently I had fallen into the same category that the author despises and writes about like Henry Ford, Charles Coughlin, and more recently the abhorrent American terrorist Robert Bowers, who on Oct. 27, 2018, murdered 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the author's home neighborhood in Pittsburgh, which ultimately inspired her to write this book."

Three weeks ago a podcast aired with audio of Cannon contending that black people are the true Hebrews and that Jews have usurped their identity. Cannon also alleged that people who lack sufficient melanin are "a little less." These statements received blistering criticism. Cannon, who welcomed being held accountable for his statement and said that he also held himself accountable.

He acknowledged that reading the book made him realize that he was not "fully educated in the space of the trigger words and coded conversation" regarding anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories. The "Masked Singer" host said that Weiss' examples in the book, which included terrorists beheading Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002 and the lynching of Jewish worker Leo Frank in 1915, show "why the baseless hate for an entire community must end and that any reminding rhetoric deserves a sincere apology."

Cannon then turned to discuss Weiss' July 14 letter to the New York Times announcing her resignation.

"In her recent resignation letter to the New York Times she discusses 'intellectual curiosity' now becoming a liability in society and the challenges of 'free exchange of ideas in a democratic society,' could this book be skewed or reviewed as 'one-sided' in a much-needed discussion, perhaps?" he wrote. "I would love to have the open dialogue with Ms. Weiss on my academic podcast 'Cannon's Class,' like I recently engaged with another fellow friend and 'tweeter' Rabbi Abraham Cooper from the Simon Wiesenthal Human Rights Center."

Cannon concluded with a call to eradicate anti-Semitism.

"Today is a new day of improving our own words and actions towards clarity and compassion," wrote Cannon. "All in all, this book was truly an insightful and powerful read."

Weiss responded in a Twitter thread noting the concept of teshuvah, which is the "return to one's higher self, to one's ideals, to the good, to righteousness."

"I thought of all of this as I read your thoughtful post about my book, 'How to Fight Anti-Semitism,'" she added in a subsequent post. "It moves me that you took the time to read it and to reflect on it. I welcome your invitation to continue the conversation."

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Cannon responded to Weiss in a tweet that read, "Thank you for your warm and compassionate response. I have been learning a lot about Teshuva and Atonement in recent days. Education and growth is a process, thank you for accompanying me. Shabbat Shalom."

On July 23, Cannon had Cooper on his podcast to discuss anti-Semitism; Cannon has issued apologies about his 2019 remarks about Zionists and the Rothschilds having "too much power."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Nick Cannon praises Bari Weiss' 'powerful' book on anti-Semitism appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism," the company said in a statement. It is terminating its relationship with Cannon, ViacomCBS said.

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The company's move was in response to remarks made by Cannon on a podcast in which he and Richard "Professor Griff" Griffith, the former Public Enemy member, discussed racial bias. The podcast reportedly was filmed last year and aired two weeks ago.

"We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast 'Cannon's Class' on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," ViacomCBS said.

"While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him," the company said.

Cannon produced "Wild 'n Out," a comedy improv series for VH1, a ViacomCBS-owned cable channel. He's been a regular part of TV shows unconnected to the company, including as the former host of NBC's "America's Got Talent" and host of Fox's "The Masked Singer."

There was no immediate response to requests for comment made to a representative for Cannon and to him through his website. Fox also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Cannon's hour-plus podcast, he and Griffin contend that Black people are the true Hebrews and that Jews have usurped their identity.

Cannon then segues into a discussion of skin color – "And I'm going to say this carefully," he begins – to allege that people who lack sufficient melanin are "a little less."

Those without dark skin have a "deficiency" that historically forced them to act out of fear and commit acts of violence to survive, he said.

"They had to be savages," Cannon said, adding that he was referring to "Jewish people, white people, Europeans," among others.

ViacomCBS' action came as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the basketball great and writer, condemned several sports and entertainment celebrities – most notably rapper and actor Ice Cube and NFL player Desean Jackson – for anti-Semitic tweets and posts and what he called a "shocking lack of indignation" in response.

Abdul-Jabbar made his comments in a column for The Hollywood Reporter that didn't refer to Cannon.

As controversy over his remarks began to bubble up Monday, Cannon replied in a Facebook post.

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"I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric ... The Black and Jewish communities have both faced enormous hatred, oppression persecution, and prejudice for thousands of years and in many ways have and will continue to work together to overcome these obstacles," he wrote.

In the lengthy post, Cannon also said he welcomed being held accountable for his statement and that he held himself accountable "for this moment and take full responsibility."

The post ViacomCBS drops Nick Cannon, cites 'anti-Semitic' comments appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.