Israeli jazz musicians grapple with rising antisemitism

Despite refraining from commentary on the crisis in Gaza, some Brooklyn clubs that host Israeli musicians are under attack

By Eric Berger

The paint-splattered entrance at Wilson Live (Courtesy Italy Levi)

In early May, someone vandalized Wilson Live, an Israeli-owned music venue in Bushwick, by writing “Zionists can’t make jazz” on a sign and on a fence in permanent marker.

Then on June 2, as the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas dragged on, someone poured a bucket of red paint on people waiting to enter for a performance after someone screamed expletives and insults at the owners earlier in the day.

While the meaning of Zionism is often misunderstood and misinterpreted — various groups have defined it differently at different times — what is clear and perhaps surprising is that not only can Israelis, in fact, make jazz, they also have an outsized (and largely apolitical) presence in the New York scene relative to the population of Israel.

The musicians have continued to appear on bills each night at venues throughout New York and say they have otherwise largely been able to perform without anyone discriminating against them because of the war, which began after Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack in Israel.

But the owners of the venue, who had not taken an active role in either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian efforts, say they see the recent incidents as racist attacks and that they were targeted simply because they are Israeli.

“The symbolic act of red paint on a door is dating back to the 1930s in Europe, and they did it to Jewish homes before they came and slaughtered them,” says Itay Levi, a Wilson Live founder and drummer.

‘Very unique and open’
Israeli jazz musicians like Anat Cohen, Omer Avital and two Avishai Cohens have occupied a prominent place in New York and by extension, American jazz, for decades. Amit Golan, an Israeli pianist who has since died, deepened that connection between the musicians in the two countries by spearheading a partnership in 2009 between the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York and the Center for Jazz Studies at the Israel Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv.

Musicians now can spend two years at the Israeli Conservatory and then complete their studies at the New School. Afterwards, they often remain in New York.

On any given night at Ornithology, another jazz club in Bushwick, it’s likely that there will be at least one Israeli musician on stage and Hebrew spoken amongst the crowd.

“It seems like they are just well-versed musicians in the traditional [jazz] language, especially bebop, but other than that, they are very unique and open,” says Rie Yamaguchi-Borden, a drummer and vocalist who co-owns Ornithology. “I just recognize them as musicians. I’m definitely colorblind.”

Hillai Govreen, who is from Israel, leads a group of musicians at Ornithology (Photo by Eric Berger)

Yonathan Peled, a Tel Aviv native and trombonist, studied in the conservatories’ partnership, and then immigrated to the United States. He now lives in Park Slope and performs at Wilson, Ornithology and LunÀtico, a club in Bedford-Stuyvesant that also often hosts Israeli musicians.

He has not expressed his opinions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his shows or on social media.

“I want to make music for the music,” Peled says.

When asked his thoughts on the war, he said, “Bring the hostages back to Israel, and create a livable situation for everybody who lives in that area. I hope that people can respect each other more and not kill each other.”

Still, one Reddit commenter described Ornithology as “IDF’d up too,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

“You think you’re masking your antisemitism, but boycotting a place based on its people’s birthplace is just plain prejudice,” one person responded.

Yamaguchi-Borden hired Israeli musicians for an Earth Day event in April, which drew criticism on Instagram.

“We shouldn’t be condemning the individual for their own country’s government’s actions. We have to separate that,” Yamaguchi-Borden says.

A New York Police Department spokesperson tells Brooklyn Magazine it is investigating the red paint incident at Wilson Live as a “criminal mischief complaint” and not a hate crime. I the meantime, Levi, the club’s owner, says they are working to install security cameras and plan to hold a concert in the next couple weeks.