Singer-songwriter and pianist Regina Spektor is in the middle of her Midsummer Daydream tour, playing songs from across her career. But at one stop recently, at Portland's Revolution Hall, things did not go exactly how she probably would've liked.

At the July 26 show, protestors in the audience interrupted the concert mid-set, shouting "Free Palestine!" among other things. (You can watch a video of the incident here.) In response, Spektor – who is of Russian Jewish descent – stopped playing and said to them, "You’re just yelling at a Jew. I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing. I really appreciate the security. We had a really hard time last night, when I said, ‘Shalom aleichem' [peace be upon you]."

"I thought this was different than the internet. This is real life," she continued. When fans expressed support for Spektor, another protestor yelled “I’m watching dying children. That hurts."

Spektor replied: "I think you should go because this is not the place for that conversation. I’m a real person who came here to play music. If anybody wants to walk out, this is your chance. Does anybody else want to take a walk? You can."

To add to her "defense" in the moment, Spektor added:

"The only reason I even speak English is because I came here to escape this shit. I only speak English because I came from a country where people were treating Jews as others, and now I’m being othered here, and it sucks. It’ll be nice if one of my family’s generation didn’t have to go to a new country and learn a new language, just stay put, have nice lives, you guys."

Spektor has long been a supporter of Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks of 2023. She has come out against other artists as well, including Bjork, whose post about the conflict back in November 2023 elicited this comment from Spektor:

"How does one go from being silent about the worst progrom [sic]/massacre of innocent Jewish life, rapes, murder, and torture … and jump right in with only a false info graphic based on the imagination of propaganda pushers? I don’t envy this level of disheartedness mixed with ignorance. To have it displayed by one of my heroes is just extra painful on top of the sorrow of mourning our dead and worrying for family and friends in Israel and the world over. May we stay strong in the face of lies and may we destroy Hamas, so that the Palestinians in Gaza, and the rest of the world can breathe easier."

As of this writing, Spektor does not seem to have commented on this new incident, and will continue her tour, performing in Spokane, WA tonight.