Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has urged the cancellation of a Brooklyn concert by an Uzbek singer, citing her allegedly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish remarks. The performance by Yulduz Usmonova, scheduled for May 9 at the Oceana Theater in Brighton Beach, has drawn Blakeman’s ire due to past comments attributed to the singer.
Blakeman, who is set to challenge New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the upcoming November election, expressed his disapproval at a press conference alongside local state lawmakers. “Allowing Usmonova to perform is outrageous,” he declared. “There is no room for hate speech or expressions of animosity in Brooklyn, or anywhere else in New York or the United States.”
Currently serving as the Nassau County executive, Blakeman described Usmonova as a “vile person” consumed by antisemitism. “Her hateful rhetoric has no place in our community,” he added, emphasizing the importance of combating intolerance.
The controversy stems from a social media post by Usmonova on May 13, 2021, where she made inflammatory statements against Israel while voicing support for Palestine. She declared, “Let Israelis and other Jews know: We will not leave the Palestinians alone,” and further stated the willingness to “fight alongside them against Israel.”
Usmonova first sparked outrage in a social media post on May 13, 2021, when she went on a rant attacking the Jewish State and pledging support for Palestine.
“Let Israelis and other Jews know: We will not leave the Palestinians alone,” she wrote. “At a single call, we will all go to help Palestine and fight alongside them against Israel.
“Know this, all who are against Muslims will burn in fire. Know that we will unite,” Usmonova said. “We are with you, dear Palestine. May the almighty rain all misfortunes upon your heads, Jews!”
The comments backfired — her 2024 performance at the Oceana Theater was cancelled after protests over her controversial stance, according to Uzbekistan’s Qalampir news outlet.
In recent interview, Usmonova tried to walk back her extremist statements.
“I realize that things turned out badly with respect to the Jews and, overall, with respect to Israel,” she said. “I”m reminded of a verse from the Surah ‘Isra’ [in the Qaran], which says, ‘If you hate some people, then you yourself are acting wrongly by continuing to hate them.’
“At a moment like this, you start asking yourself, ‘Who is right?’ And it would have been worth asking. At the time, I even considered myself right.”
She later admitted, “I feel uneasy. That is the feeling tormenting me now.”
However, for Blakeman and the state reps who joined him outside the Oceana Theater on Monday, the recent comments don’t erase the harm the singer has done.
“We’re standing here in Brighton Beach, in the heart of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, because something deeply disturbing and wrong is about to take place, and it demands a clear and immediate response,” state Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (R-Brooklyn) told reporters.
“This is about drawing the line,” he said. “We will not allow our neighborhoods to become a cesspool for antisemitism. We will not allow antisemitism to be normalized, and we will not stay silent when our community is targeted.”
Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny (R-Brooklyn), a Russian-Jewish immigrant, slammed the controversial singer as a poor representative of the city’s Uzbek-American community.
“Ms. Usmanova, stick to entertaining people and stop your attacks against the Jewish American community while pretending to be a voice of the Uzbek community,” Brook-Krasny said.
The Oceana Theater and reps for Usmonova did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
