Azealia Banks is done with Israel, again: ‘On second thought, F**K ISRAEL’

JTA – It’s been months since rapper Azealia Banks turned heads when she declared she was a “Zionist” on social media in June and gave a concert in Israel for the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks. 

But in a tirade on X this week, she reversed course, lambasting the toll of the United States and Israel’s war with Iran and declaring in a series of profane posts that she no longer supports the country. 

“Israel really did us dirty. This is not about terrorism, they actually wanted to see us face China head to head. Israel wants to see the petrodollar flunk. I actually HOPE Netanyahu is dead. We should strike a big [deal] with Iran and just go to war with Israel and keep the petrodollar strong,” Banks wrote in a post on X on Tuesday evening. 

“On second thought [sic], F—CK ISRAEL,” Banks, who has more than 240 000 followers on X, concluded. 

While the rapper has frequently commented on Israel and Judaism, previously weighing in on Ashkenazi cuisine and antisemitic conspiracy theories, her latest disavowal of the Jewish state marks a sharp break from her staunch expressions of support for Israel last year. 

“The lore of Israel & Zionism and the Jews is charming and relatable as hell,” Banks wrote on X ahead of her concert in Tel Aviv in October. She likened Israel to Wakanda, the futuristic black homeland in the Black Panther movies, writing that “Zionism is iconic” and “Zionism is punk”. 

Her reversal, which was criticised by some Jewish influencers, comes as the war in Iran has sparked growing US public backlash and claims in some political and online circles that Israeli influence drove the conflict. 

It wasn’t the first time Banks has staked out an anti-Israel view. In 2018, she vowed she would never visit Israel, which she called “nuts” after she said she encountered racism while performing there. 

In posts beginning last Wednesday, Banks pivoted from criticising Arab states to promoting internet conspiracy theories that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had died, and saying that she was “Israel/Iran/Maga’d out”. 

“The way Aipac [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] eggs it on like israeli death is cool so long as it feeds fragile jewish american ego [sic] is actually psychotic,” wrote Banks in a post on X on Tuesday, referring to the pro-Israel lobby. “Like the self cannibalism, double dealing and american jealousy is too obvious to not see. The state of israel is f**king haram [prohibited]. The nation, the people don’t deserve to be forced into bullshit wars over american and british interests, this is crazyyyyyyy.”