Fanned by rapper Kanye West's remarks, demonstrators unfurled anti-Semitic banners above the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles at the weekend.
“Kanye is right about the Jews”, read one of the banners.
Another asked drivers to “Honk if you know".
The demonstrators gave Nazi salutes as they stood on the overpass of one of America’s busiest motorways, local media said.
The acts of anti-Semitism has shocked many and shaken the community.
“I think it's really a very concerning thing because it is something that basically is spewing a hateful ideology and ideas at a time when we are, as a community, really working to push back against hate,” said Robin Toma, executive director of Los Angeles County’s Commission on Human Relations.
Mr Toma, whose organisation tracks hate speech and crimes in America's most populated county, said hate crimes in general were on the rise.
The incident on the motorway appears to have been fuelled by West’s recent tirades against Jewish people.
The rapper, who now goes by Ye, has a long history of controversial comments and recently tweeted that he was “going def con 3 on Jewish people".
“This banner drop is proof positive that Kanye West's anti-Semitic rhetoric is serving as an accelerant for extremists,” said Jeffrey Abrams, the LA regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
West has since been suspended from Twitter and Instagram, although he has recently committed to buying the right-wing social media platform Parler.
"It is incredibly disappointing when celebrities use their star power to amplify hateful ideas,” Mr Toma told The National.
“I think that whenever a celebrity expresses views that are so hateful or potentially dangerous … it can lead to potentially more acts of hate, including hate crime and hate violence.”
Mr Abrams and the ADL are calling on companies who are in business with West to dissociate themselves from the controversial celebrity.
“What we hope is that companies like adidas and Gap who are partners with Kanye West will take action,” he told The National.
“We hope that this is a catalysing moment. When people of good faith, Jewish and non-Jewish come together, and again with a clarion voice, speak that they will not tolerate this.”
The banners over the motorway were not the only anti-Semitic incident in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Police in Beverly Hills are investigating several flyers that were distributed in the upscale neighbourhood on Sunday that propagated racist stereotypes against Jewish people.
Former president Donald Trump recently came under criticism for comments that many construed as anti-Semitic when he suggested American Jews were disloyal to him on his social-media platform, Truth Social.
“US Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — Before it is too late," Mr Trump wrote.
The White House condemned the former president’s comments as anti-Semitic.
Meanwhile, MRC has said it will not be releasing a documentary with West.
“We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform,” top executives at the independent production company behind hits such as Knives Out said on Monday.
The Creative Artists Agency (CAA), West's touring representative, dropped him as well, and luxury fashion house Balenciaga has ended a lucrative deal with him.
And on Tuesday, shoemaker Adidas terminated its multi-million dollar contract with the pariah.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company also said in a statement. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Trump's alt-right rallies in the US - in pictures
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
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The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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