Yulduz Usmonova sparks controversy again as Iran praises singer while Israel remains silent

The Iranian Embassy has sent a gift to Yulduz Usmonova, who has recently been at the center of public debate over her remarks about Jews, her “Free Palestine” statements and the cancellation of her concert in the United States. A video circulating on social media shows an embassy representative presenting the gift to the singer.

According to the video, Iran’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Mohammad Ali Eskandari and the embassy’s cultural affairs adviser Hassan Safarkhani presented Usmonova with a handmade gift in recognition of her support for children and civilians being killed in Iran, Palestine and Lebanon.

Yulduz Usmonova is once again in the spotlight. This time, discussions are not about her songs, but about the cancellation of her concert in the United States, protests by Israelis and her statements about Jews. Notably, tensions between Usmonova and Jewish communities are not new.

A concert by People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Yulduz Usmonova was scheduled to take place in the United States on May 9 this year. The event was planned at the Ocean Theater in New York, and tickets had already been sold. However, a campaign against the singer soon began. Local politicians, including Nassau County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, New York State Assembly members Michael Novakhov and Alec Brook-Krasny, accused Usmonova of making antisemitic statements.

“An artist who has called for harm to the Jewish people should not be allowed to come to the United States and perform in the heart of an area that is home to one of the world’s largest Jewish communities,” Blakeman said.

According to activists who protested the concert, Usmonova was offered the opportunity to publicly retract her statements and apologize, but she refused. An appeal was also sent to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling for the singer’s visa to be revoked.

“Before taking further action, my office contacted her and gave her an opportunity to retract her statements and issue a public apology. She refused. Now we are taking action,” Blakeman said.

The dispute originally began with statements made in 2021. At that time, ahead of Eid, Yulduz Usmonova commented on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, accused Israel of occupation and called for a boycott of Israeli products.

Those remarks triggered strong criticism from Bukharian Jewish communities in the United States and Israel. They described the singer’s comments as antisemitic and demanded that she apologize to the people of Israel. Usmonova responded to those demands.

“If I sang at your weddings, that does not give you the right to insult my religion. If I took money from you, I took it for the art that Allah gave me,” she said.

This is reportedly not the first such case. Usmonova’s concert scheduled for September 14, 2024, in New York was also canceled following protests by the Jewish diaspora in the United States.

As for this year’s events, after a new campaign by Jewish communities, Yulduz Usmonova posted a sharp response on Instagram and said she would never apologize.

“If you Jews and Zionists think I will apologize, you are deeply mistaken. I stand firm in my views. I am against violence. And I will always say, ‘Free Palestine,’” the singer said.

On May 5, four days before the concert, the Ocean Theater officially announced on Facebook that the event had been canceled.

“The Yulduz Usmonova concert scheduled for May 9 has been canceled. Ticket refunds will be available at the places of purchase,” the announcement said.

Following this, Usmonova issued another statement, criticizing attempts to stop the concert of a foreign citizen while in the United States.

“America is not Israel. So do not think you are the masters here. You have turned the whole world against yourselves. No one will apologize to you, because you are occupiers,” she said.

Yulduz Usmonova also said the controversy would “only bring her more recognition.”