Is Bruno Mars Jewish? Ethnicity explored as fans fear for singer's safety amid cancellation of Israel concert

On Wednesday, October 4, Bruno Mars performed his first-ever concert in Israel to a sold-out crowd in Tel Aviv, where he declared his love for the city and was all set to return two days later for another sold-out show. However, Mars has reportedly left the country after the Hamas surprise attacks and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration of war.

Although not raised Jewish, the Hawaiian-born singer has been public about his Jewish ancestry. His father, Peter Hernandez, is a half-Jewish, half-Puerto Rican Hawaii resident originally from Brooklyn. Mars' ancestral pool has been described as being one-quarter Jewish and can be traced back to Hungary and Ukraine.

Fans on social media did fear for the singer's safety while he was still in the country. After leaving the country, Bruno Mars, who was set to perform in Qatar on October 8, canceled his after-race show at the last minute.

People were concerned about Bruno Mars' safety (Image via X/@poponze)

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Bruno Mars' ancestry stretches back a long way

According to a research article written by genealogist Megan Smolenyak for Huffpost, Bruno Mars' cultural heritage can be described as a mix of Ukrainian, American, Filipino, Hispanic, Jewish, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, European, Hungarian, Asian, and Spanish.

Bruno Mars was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, as Peter Gene Hernandez to his half-Jewish, half-Puerto Rican father, Peter Hernandez, and late Filipina mother, Bernadette Hernandez. Peter Hernandez, who came to Hawaii from Brooklyn, reportedly has Hungarian-Ukrainian roots, while his mother was a Filipina immigrant with Chinese and Spanish ancestry.

Megan Smolenyak reported that a particular ancestor of Bruno Mars from his father's side was a Ukrainian Hebrew teacher who immigrated to the United States through the Galveston Movement. This was a Jewish US immigration assistance program developed to help Jews seeking asylum from eastern European countries and Russia. His future wife was reported as being from Ellis Island.

Bruno's great-great-grandfather was reportedly Spanish, and his wife was Filipina. His great-great-grandmother remarried to a Chinese man after her first husband's death.

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Bruno Mars performed in Israel for the first time ever

On Wednesday, October 4, Bruno Mars performed to a sold-out crowd in Tel Aviv, Israel, in his first-ever concert in the country. He did not shy away from proclaiming his love for the city in front of over 60,000 delighted fans. The Times of Israel reported that the 38-year-old shouted out to the crowd:

"We’ve heard stories about this place, we heard that you sweat and we heard that you dance… we’ve been waiting a long time to play for you."

The singer also reportedly gave a rousing performance with a few fun references thrown in the mix. According to Kveller, he called one particular dance move "the shwarma" while performing Castle in the Sky. He sang "Ani Ohev Otach" (I love you in Hebrew) while performing Calling All Lovelies.

The crowd was also presented with a local delight when Mars' keyboardist, John Fossit, took the stage while Mars was on a break and gave the crowd a beautiful instrumental rendering of a popular Israeli children's classic, Shlomit Bona Sukkah, by Naomi Shemer.

Netizens were concerned about the singer's safety (Image via X)

Mars was slated to come back on October 7 to perform a second show, but unfortunately, only a few hours before his concert, the Hamas missile attacks hit the city, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare war against Palestinian militants. Momentarily, fans were deeply concerned with the safety of the singer, who was reportedly in the thick of it all.

Fans were relieved to see pictures of Mars leaving the country (Image via X)

Bruno Mars had to cancel his concert, citing the war, and fans breathed a sigh of relief when it was reported by Live Nation Israel that the singer left the country. The Times of Israel reported that Bruno left the country on the afternoon of Saturday, October 7. He reportedly flew to Athens and then to Qatar, where he was slated to perform after the F-1 race on October 8 but canceled at the last minute.