"No use in explaining yourself to people": Azealia Banks defends her views after performing at a concert in Tel Aviv

Rapper Azealia Banks has been embroiled in controversy for her recent show in Israel’s Tel Aviv.

In an X post on October 10, posted by Banks, she was seen walking to the stage with an Israeli Flag draped loosely around her body as she approached the front of the stage. In the caption, she wrote:

“Ok the way you guys have just been lying about me for years and I’ve sneak been internalizing the things you say ends in 2025. No use in explaining yourself to people who’ve made it their job to not understand you. More jews for me *shrug*.”

According to Baller Alert, this is one of Azealia Banks’ major shows in Israel. The outlet noted that she expressed her love for Jews during the performance at Ganei Yehoshua amphitheater. She mentioned that her love for the Jews goes back in history. At one point during her performance, she wore a shirt with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s photo printed on it.

In 2018, Banks was at a concert in Tel Aviv, but she was reportedly upset with the treatment she received there. Sharing her thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) at the time, the rapper wrote:

"I will never ever ever ever ever go to Israel again. I love my fans but y’all gonna have to fly out to come see me because y’all country is nuts."

In another post on the social media platform, Azealia Banks shared that during her flight back, she sat beside a rabbi who first talked to her about numerology and then asked if she would sleep with him for money, away from his community. She found it strange but said no politely.

More about Azealia Banks’ visit to Israel and her recent comments about the country

During her visit to Israel, Azealia Banks visited several historic sites, like the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sharing an Instagram story from the Nova site recently, she said:

“I still don’t understand how the music industry hasn’t treated this as a direct attack on the freedom and purity of simply enjoying and being free at a music festival. It’s just devastating.”

Meanwhile, Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar publicly thanked Azealia for always standing by Israel and called her a good friend of the Israeli people. On October 9, Azealia Banks shared a post on Israel, praising the country, writing:

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“Israel is a vibe. There’s so much North African and Arab influence in the city culture except everyone is walking around drinking green juice and carry surfboards like it’s LA 2004. There’s Arabic and Hebrew street signs and directions everywhere and alot of Israelis speak Arabic.”

During an interview with The Jewish Chronicle in September 2025, Azealia Banks expressed that she believed music and entertainment should not be influenced by bans or restrictions. She said that if people started banning Russians or Israelis from music, then many others would also have to be banned, which wouldn’t make sense to her.

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