It doesn’t take long into the viral SubwayTakes interview with lead singer of the Strokes, Julian Casablancas, regarding a certain vulnerable minority to realize what’s actually going on. Casablanca says his hot take like he discovered a groundbreaking hypothesis: “American Zionists get the benefits of white-privileged people but talk like they are Black people during slavery.” It’s a striking comparison, but also a telling one. In his attempt to layer historical trauma on top of a generalized label, he relies on a euphemism so old and shallow that even MLK felt the need to refute it. He then escalates his rhetoric without ever clarifying who is actually being critiqued or why. As a result, he reduces a complex group (US Jews) into a caricature, echoing stereotypes that dismiss Jewish concerns rather than engaging with them seriously.
Basically, the two used socially acceptable language to discuss “the Jewish question” and came to all the usual conclusions about how dishonest we all are. There’s a reason why we shouldn’t get our political opinions from musicians.
At one point, Casablancas and interviewer, Kareem Rahma, lean into the phrase “American Zionists” while describing people attending weddings in Tel Aviv as “80,000 people are dead half a mile away.” It’s a line designed to provoke. But it’s also vague in a way that raises a basic question: who exactly is being described here?
And that’s where hiding behind the term “American Zionist” becomes cowardly. That ambiguity isn’t neutral.
Because in reality, “American Zionists” is not a precise category. Most Americans who identify as Zionists aren’t Israeli, don’t live in Israel, and contrary to the imagery being invoked – aren’t casually flying to weddings in Tel Aviv during wartime. But more importantly, that image is doing something. It turns Jewish life and celebration – even in the face of violence, into something that looks excessive or morally suspect. It frames visible Jewish identity and attachment to Israel not as normal expressions of identity under pressure, but as something almost indulgent or callous. That framing is deeply misleading, and shouldn’t be left to stand unchallenged.
The same dynamic shows up when the conversation pivots to October 7. Casablancas compares the terrorist-lead massacre to Native American resistance. Collapsing two very different historical and moral contexts into a single analogy. But don’t worry, he briefly acknowledged that, “Yes, [violence is] bad.” Setting aside morally dubious and ahistorical defense of mass rape, kidnapping, and murder of Israelis, the speed of that pivot matters.
None of this happens in a vacuum. The clip has racked up hundreds of thousands of views, with comment sections that agree and amplify the rhetoric hinted throughout the video. A day earlier at Coachella, visuals accompanying The Strokes’ performance included footage of the war in Iran and Gaza with claims about universities “under attack,” blending different geopolitical contexts into a single, emotionally loaded narrative. No acknowledgment that those buildings were likely used by terrorists to harm civilians or why there is even a war with the Islamic Regime in the first place. When artists with massive platforms speak this carelessly, their words don’t just reflect hot takes – they legitimize it, giving vague and loaded language a much wider and more dangerous reach.
We’ve seen what explicit antisemitism looks like. It’s loud, direct, and near impossible to misread. Whether it’s Kanye West openly praising Nazis or Nick Fuentes pushing Holocaust Denial. That kind of rhetoric doesn’t hide what it is.
What’s happening here feels different. Language that stays just unclear enough to invite interpretation while avoiding direct accountability is where “criticism of Zionism” starts to do more than describe a political position. Rather, they become a vehicle for antisemitism that moves beyond political critique into hostility toward Jews themselves. So next time, Casablanca, call it what it is- or don’t be surprised when people fill in the blanks for you.
This article was originally published in The Times of Israel Blogs.
