GOP’s Bruce Blakeman pushes NYC venue to cancel concert for anti-Israel, Jewish
Bruce Blakeman, the GOP presidential nominee, said a Brooklyn theater should cancel a scheduled performance by an Uzbek singer over remarks in the report that are anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.
Blakeman, chosen by the Republican Party to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul in November, called it an outrage that 62-year-old singer Yulduz Usmonova will be allowed to perform at the Oceana Theater in Brighton Beach on May 9.
“There is no place for hate speech or hate chanting, for that matter, here in Brooklyn or anywhere in New York State or America,” Blakeman said outside the venue at a news conference with local lawmakers.
“This woman sings and sings, but she is a wicked person,” he said. “He is a person full of hatred, he is full of hate, there is no place for him to sing here in Brooklyn.
Usmonova first sparked outrage on social media on May 13, 2021, when she went on a rampage attacking the Jewish State and pledging support for Palestine.
“Let Israelis and other Jews know: We will not leave the Palestinians alone,” he wrote. “With one request, we will all go to help Palestine and fight with it against Israel.
“Know this, all those who are against Muslims will burn with fire. Know that we will unite,” said Usmonova. “We are with you, dear Palestine. May the Almighty bring all misfortunes to your heads, Jews!”
This comment is counterintuitive – his 2024 performance at the Oceana Theater was canceled after protests over his controversial status, according to Uzbekistan’s Qalampir newspaper.
In a recent interview, Usmonova tried to take back her extreme statements.
“I realize that things got worse for the Jews, too, as far as Israel is concerned,” he said. “I am reminded of the verse of Surah ‘Isra’ [in the Qaran]saying, ‘If you hate other people, then you are doing wrong by continuing to hate them.’
“At a time like this, you start asking yourself, ‘Who is right?’ And it would be nice to ask. At that time I thought I was right.”
He later admitted, “I feel uncomfortable. That’s the feeling that’s bothering me now.”
However, for Blakeman and the state attorneys who joined him outside the Oceana Theater on Monday, the latest comments don’t erase the damage the singer has done.
“We are standing here in Brighton Beach, in the heart of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, because something very disturbing and wrong is about to happen, and it requires a clear and immediate response,” state Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (R-Brooklyn) told reporters.
“This is about drawing a line,” he said. “We will not allow our neighborhoods to become hotbeds of anti-Semitism. We will not allow it to become the norm, and we will not remain silent when our community is targeted.”
Alec Brook-Krasny (R-Brooklyn), a Russian-Jewish immigrant, criticized the controversial singer as a poor representative of the city’s Uzbek-American community.
“Ms. Usmanova, stick to pleasing people and stop your attacks against the American Jewish community while pretending to be the voice of the Uzbek community,” Brook-Krasny said.
Oceana Theater and reps for Usmonova did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
