The Brooklyn Monarch concert venue located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has canceled the appearance of the Israeli hard rock band HaYehudim because of its name and the club’s fear of appearing to be taking a political position on the war in Gaza.
A spokesman for the band told The Jewish Press that despite the cancellation in Williamsburg, their US tour will go as scheduled, starting May 30 in New York, and on June 6 in Los Angeles.
Back to our story: of course, by canceling the show the Monarch already took a political position on the war in Gaza, Israel’s right to defend itself, the 2-state solution, and Arab murderers beheading babies, raping women, and slashing innocent civilians.
Twitter user Iris shared the venue’s official explanation:
“I’m very sorry but we can’t accommodate you. My partners got back to me regarding the political nature of the band’s name, and we as an entertainment space in New York prefer to avoid politically charged events or actions.”
Of course, HaYehudim was established in 1992, and their name means, literally, “The Jews.” How would that make their show a politically charged event?
If your audience is mostly antisemites, it would.
As Bentzi Sykora put it:
HaYehudim is not a huge thing in Israel, but it’s a hard-working band that sold 200,000 albums in its 32 years of performing. In a country with not as many hard rock fans as you may think, that’s a big deal.
Their soundman, Guy Illouz, 26, was kidnapped from the Supernova concert on October 7, 2023, and murdered in Gaza. So, maybe the band is politically charged.
On Thursday, the Monarch will feature the band Armed for Apocalypse with the hit song Ritual Violence. Is it politically charged or do only Jews get disqualified for being who they are?
HaYehudim’s albums include albums Metziut Nifredet (Separate Reality) – 1995; HaYehudim – 1998; Pakhad Mavet (“Deadly Fear”) – 2002; Forte – 2007; and Yoter Lo (“No More”) – 2015, which features the song “Pair of Doves.”
No ritual violence whatsoever.
The band issued a statement saying, “HaYehudim bears its name with pride and always advocates for cultural freedom and the love of man. Precisely in this period, we will not give up and will proudly come to the concert tour in the United States against all the antisemites.”
