Ali Bouali, a Dutch rapper of Moroccan descent has been accused of antisemitism, after a lyric in his new song played on the canard of Jews being miserly.
His new song “That is money” includes the lyric that he “sits on money like a Jew” and that he “deports” greedy women.
Dutch Jewish Newspaper Jonet featured a piece on the song, in which the writer lamented the fact that Bouali used his position to spread an antisemitic lie, as opposed to speak out against the antisemitism amongst Dutch Muslims.
However, Bouali rejected the criticism, claiming that he is just saying Jews are “good businesspeople”. Bouali added that “they want to take every word that a Moroccan ever says and turn it into something anti-Semitic”. Whilst being good with money is obviously not a bad thing, claiming that Jews are particularly good with money in itself plays upon antisemitic ideas that Jews have an unusual preoccupation with pursuing money. However, saying that Jews “sit on money” is not merely saying Jews are good businesspeople, but instead evokes images of miserly Jews holding onto their money, and is inherently antisemitic.
Bouali was described by the Economist as a racial “bridge-builder” who has “probably done more to promote Dutch acceptance of Muslims than any policy could have achieved”, whilst simultaneously managing to avoid becoming embroiled in political controversies, which has occasionally exasperated his fans who have called for him to take a stand against Geert Wilders and his right-wing PVV party. Unfortunately, this progressive figure within the Dutch Muslim community has still failed to steer himself away from the antisemitism which has increasingly characterised European Muslim communities.
His music video has now been viewed over a million times on YouTube.