Heavy metal rock star condemns Hamas, supports Israel, after receiving gift from young fan

David Draiman, the lead singer of the heavy metal group Disturbed, expressed strong support for Israel when a young female fan handed him a bracelet with the words “Am Israeli Chai,” which translates to “the people of Israel live.”

This occurred at a concert in Orlando, Florida on February 26, where Draiman said he could no longer stay silent.

He said he has family in Israel, according to Fox News, and that he lost friends at the Nova Music Festival, which was hit hard during the massive terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7. The attack killed about 1,200 people with another 242 taken hostage, half of whom remain as hostages or are already dead.

"I miss people that were slaughtered like animals at the Nova Festival," he said onstage. "Rape is not resistance. Slaughtering innocents at a music festival that brings together people from all walks of life is not resistance."

The band, Disturbed, is one of the most successful rock bands of the 21st century, according to Billboard.

"I genuinely feel empathy for the Palestinian people despite what everyone on the other side of the equation likes to claim." Draiman added. "There is not a single Jew on this planet that does not celebrate life. We celebrate life. Hamas celebrates death and they need to be eradicated; not the Palestinians, Hamas. We need to save Gaza from Hamas."

In an interview with Breitbart, Draiman said that he has normally been "very careful to not infuse Disturbed performances with any kind of political rhetoric," but rather "tries to make concerts an escape from that." He added that the gift from the young fan "seemed like a sign." 

"I couldn’t not acknowledge her very precise, thoughtful gift without being insulting at that point, so I felt compelled to speak about it and I just went completely off the cuff, speaking from my heart and trying to address the elephant in the room, so to speak," he told the outlet. "I just did the best that I could, and I’m glad that it resonated with as many people as it has apparently so far. Who knows? I can only hope that it has a continuing positive effect."