Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor addressed a pro-Palestinian protester who interrupted her concert Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, telling the individual, “You’re just yelling at a Jew.” The exchange highlighted the growing tensions around the Israel-Gaza conflict and its presence in public and cultural spaces.
The incident occurred during Spektor’s performance at Revolution Hall, roughly 10 songs into the set, when a protester shouted “Free f—ing Palestine” from the audience. Spektor paused the show to respond directly.
“I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing,” she said to the crowd. “I really appreciate the security. We had a really hard time last night, when I said, ‘Shalom aleichem.’”
Spektor, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union to the U.S. as a child, has been vocal about her support for Israel on social media and has faced criticism for her stance. In late 2023, she publicly disagreed with Icelandic musician Björk over a post about Palestinian displacement. More recently, a pro-Palestinian Instagram account labeled her a "proud Zionist."
In October 2023, Spektor participated in a New York City event commemorating the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, where she performed the traditional Jewish prayer “Avinu Malkeinu.”
Back at the Portland concert, the audience largely responded with applause and chants of “Am Yisrael Chai,” a phrase expressing support for the Jewish people. Later, when another attendee called out, “There’s a genocide happening,” Spektor countered by saying, “You can leave the show if you want. This is not an internet comment section.”
The attendee replied, “I’m watching children dying. That hurts.”
“I think you should go because this is not the place for that conversation,” Spektor responded.
She went on to reflect on her own background: “The only reason I even speak English is because I came here to escape this,” she said. “I came from a country where people were treating Jews as others, and now I’m being othered here, and it sucks.”