Is Azealia Banks the next great Zionist ally?

The American singer-songwriter has offered her two cents on the conflict in the Middle East via a series of expletive-ridden posts on X. Branding herself a “Zionist,” Ms. Banks on Tuesday aired her various stances on the war in Gaza, including her take that “no black person should be supporting Palestine.” 

The 34-year-old rap star, who rose to fame in 2011 with the release of her hit single “212,” is neither Jewish nor Israeli, but of African American descent. She centered most of her criticisms of Palestine on her disapproval of Islam and the Arab world, particularly in respect of their treatment of black people. 

“Sorry but I’m never going to be Pro-Islam anything so long as Arab/Muslim countries hold black people in chains,” she wrote in one post, adding, “I’m pro Israel.” In another, she denounced the “Arab world” for pushing “this oppressed victim” narrative as if “they aren’t RAMPANTLY enslaving and degrading Africans behind closed doors.” 

Ms. Banks continued by taking aim at “pro black Americans” who pitch their support behind Palestine but “pay ZERO attention to what’s REALLY plaguing” the black community, referencing the crises in Sudan and in other African countries. In another post she reckons, “The Israel-Palestine dilemma is just a way for non-Jewish whites to throw a chip at Jews.” 

When asked if she supported a two-state solution, Ms. Banks replied bluntly: “No. It should all be Israel.” Palestine, she wrote, “cannot support itself without help from other countries so the people should just leave or become naturalized Israeli’s. Period.”

In one post Ms. Banks appears to hint at how she came to hold those opinions, writing, “im really a history NERD.” She then adds: “I know what the f— is up.” 

Ms. Banks’s rant was greeted warmly by some members of the Jewish community, who praised her for her support. Others, however, approached Ms. Banks’s newfound Zionist identity with a grain of salt. “Azealia Banks being the messiest Jewish ally was not on my bingo card, but I’m 110% here for it,” an Iranian Jewish content creator, Matthew Nouriel, mused. 

In spite of Ms. Banks’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas, the singer-songwriter has not always shared positive views of the Jewish state. Back in 2018, Ms. Banks wrote on X that she experienced racism while visiting Tel Aviv and pledged to “never ever ever ever ever go to Israel again.”

Additionally, during her Tuesday diatribe, Ms. Banks shared several controversial and conspiratorial theories about both Jews and Arabs, including the claim that “the Jews and the Muslims have the highest percentages of inbreeding the world over.”

In another post she sought to dispute the claim that Jews are God’s “chosen people” by arguing that “God would not make his chosen people allergic to the sun or make them inbred or give them 39 different genetic diseases specific to them.” She went on to proclaim that “Africans are the Chosen People.”