Singer had a presentation interrupted in Portland after demonstrations of support for Palestine
While the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues to intensify and take lives, protests in support of Palestine have grown around the world, including shows. On Saturday, the show of Regina Spektor In Portland, Oregon, in the Revolution Hall, was interrupted after some viewers shouted “Free Palestine!” and caught the singer’s attention, according to the Stereogum.
Spektorwho is Jewish and emigrated from Russia as a child, has been publicly manifested in support of Israel. In October, on the anniversary of the day Hamas led a Gaza attack against Israel (including the new festival), Spektor He performed at a Pro-Israel meeting in New York. In 2023, she criticized Björk by a pro-Palestinian publication.
As they show images made by fans and published by Stereogum, Spektor He was performing on stage when someone shouted “Free Fucking Palestine!”, Which interrupted the show and forced the singer to stop playing and react to the situation.
Regina Spektor Stopped Her Show Mid-Performance To Have an Audience Member Removed for Shouting “Free Palestine”.
Another Audience Member Calls Out “You can say it, Free Free Palestine!”
Spektor thes “I Thought this Was Different Than The Internet, This is Real Life!” THE THEY… pic.twitter.com/fkg6w0jfvk
– Smoke cat (@kweeninyellow) July 28, 2025
“You’re just screaming with a Jew,” she said. “I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing. I thank you for your security very much.” Many in the audience applauded and cheered in support of Spektor. “Last night it was very difficult, when I said ‘Shalom Aleichem’,” a Hebrew phrase that means “peace be with you.” Members of the audience responded with “Am Yisrael Chai,” which translates as “the people of Israel.”
Spektor He tried to locate the protesters in the audience, asking, “Where are you?” But another member of the audience said they were “leaving” according to the images. Spektor He commented, “I thought this was different from the internet. This is real life.” The audience shouted in support of Spektor while another protester exclaimed, according to the Stereogum: “I’m seeing kids dying. It hurts.” Spektor He replied, “I think you should leave, because this is not the place for this conversation. I’m a real person who came here to play music. If anyone wants to leave, that’s your chance. Anyone else wants to go a walk? Some members of the audience then could be seen leaving.
Spektor He continued: “The only reason I don’t even speak English is because I came here to escape this shit. I only speak English because I came from a country where people treated Jews as different, and now I’m being treated as different here, and that’s a shit. It would be good if, for a generation of my family, no one had to go to another country and learn a new language, just get a nice life, people.” The images of the whole exchange can be seen here.
Protests also have left the stage, with bands like Kneecap publicly expressing your support for Palestine. His comments led to investigations and recently to ban the group at a festival in Hungary. Moonmember of Kneecapfaced an accusation of terrorism in the United Kingdom for allegedly displaying the Hezbollah flag and screaming phrases like “Long live Hamas, Live Hezbollah” and “The only good Tory is a dead Tory” during a show in November 2024. In addition, the US state department revoked the British punk-rap visa visa visa. Bob Vylan after a presentation in Glastonburywhere they encouraged the audience to scream “Palestine free” and “death, death to the FDI [Forças de Defesa de Israel]”.
Today, the Associated Press He reported that Israeli attacks killed at least 36 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, while dozens of children and adults starved in July alone. Last week, the world food program of UN He stated that hunger in Gaza has reached “new and impressive levels of despair, with a third of the population without eating for several days in a row.” According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, there have been 40 hunger -related deaths this month.
This article was originally published by Rolling Stone USA by Althea Legaspi on July 28, 2025, and can be checked here.
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Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
