Rapper Azealia Banks says she wants to leave ‘Israel’ now after less than one week

Rapper Azealia Banks, known for her controversial views, has once again made headlines with a dramatic shift in her perspective on ‘Israel’ and Palestine during a recent visit to the former.

What began as a sold-out performance in Tel Aviv has spiraled into a social media storm involving claims about Semitic heritage, accusations of racism, and a vow to leave 'Israel'; echoing her sentiments from a 2018 trip where she swore off future visits.

Banks, who has publicly identified as a Zionist in the past, arrived in ‘Israel’ earlier this month for a concert at Soho House in Tel Aviv. Fan accounts documented her performances of hits like "212," "Luxury," and "Liquorice," with videos showing enthusiastic crowds.

However, the trip quickly turned contentious when Banks took to social media to assert that "Blacks and Arabs are the true Israelites”.

In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Banks escalated her commentary, stating that "Palestinians have more Semitic DNA than the Israelis."

She expressed frustration with her experiences, saying she wanted to leave the country and now understood why people support Palestine.

This marked a stark reversal from her earlier pro-‘Israel’ positions, including a June 2025 declaration where she called herself a Zionist and endorsed ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Banks defended herself in subsequent posts, arguing that Israelis are not "uptight neurotic cancel weasels".

She also referenced the presence of Black Israelites in ‘Israel’ and claimed understanding of the local dynamics.

This isn't Banks' first fraught encounter with ‘Israel’. In 2018, following a concert in Tel Aviv, she unleashed a tweetstorm decrying what she described as racism and rudeness during her stay. "Y'all country is nuts," she wrote at the time, vowing to "never ever visit Israel again."