Julian Casablancas Compares Zionists to Slaves in Interview

Julian Casablancas, frontman of the rock band The Strokes, sparked widespread debate this week with comments comparing the experiences of American Zionists to those of Black people during slavery, made during an interview on the YouTube series SubwayTakes.

The episode, hosted by comedian Kareem Rahma and filmed on a New York City subway train, premiered on April 21. Casablancas, promoting the band's upcoming album, offered several opinions before delivering what he called his most controversial take. "Well, it's been nice having a career," he said, before stating that American Zionists receive the benefits of white privilege but speak as if they are Black people enduring slavery. Rahma responded that he agreed "100 percent," adding, "I've never seen something so shocking where they're like, 'I'm so oppressed.' I'm like, you are going to a wedding in Tel Aviv right now when there are 80,000 plus dead people, including women and children, half a mile away." Rahma described the situation as "absolutely f***ed" but added, "I don't think it is bad to say that."

Casablancas anticipated criticism related to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, acknowledging them as "bad" while...