DAVID DRAIMAN & KNEECAP In Explosive War Of Words Over Gaza, Signing Bombs & “Jew Hatred”

The increasingly heated debate between Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello, Disturbed‘s David Draiman, and Irish rap group Kneecap over Israel’s current genocide in Gaza rages on.

Kneecap directly responded to Disturbed frontman David Draiman following his criticism of Tom Morello‘s recent praise for the group, and directly cited the photo of Draiman signing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) artillery shell with the phrase “Fuck Hamas.”.

“We don’t care what religion anyone is… or if they’ve one at all,” wrote Kneecap. “We love all sound cunts. Smiling and signing bombs dropped to murder kids and other people’s families just makes you a straight up cunt. Simple as. Free Palestine.”

Naturally this pissed off Draiman, who responded across a series of posts: “Here’s the thing, and I’ll speak to you in small words, so you understand. That shell was meant for HAMAS. You know, the organization who has sworn to murder all Jews, not just Israelis, time and time again, including my family. You shoot at Jews? Expect Jews to shoot back.

“All innocent lives lost in this conflict are due to Hamas using their own people as cannon fodder so that they can gain the sympathy of those who are only too eager to jump on the Jew hating train. If the hostages were released and Hamas surrendered, the bloodshed would end…

“But neither you, nor Hamas really want that. Because without dead martyred Palestinians to fuel your zeitgeist, both you and them lose power. Enjoy your 5 minutes gentlemen. It could have been done with your art, but instead you chose to do it with hatred. Bye now.”

This all got extra heated when Morello praised Kneecap as “the Rage Against The Machine of now” in a recent interview, lauding their politically charged music and unapologetic activism — particularly their criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

In a recent appearance on The Strombo Show, Morello lauded Kneecap for their bold political messaging and activism, calling them “clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now.” He elaborated, “What they’re doing in their art is what people could probably stand to do more in their lives: to really speak truth to power.”

He further defended the group against accusations of extremism, stating: “What they’re doing in their art is what people could probably stand to do more in their lives: to really speak truth to power. And, you know, Kneecap are not terrorists. What is terroristic is, you know, 20,000 dead Palestinian children. That’s the story. Not, I mean, some Irish rappers who don’t like that that’s happening. [That] should not be the story.”

Draiman responded to Morello‘s endorsement of the group, saying: “Shameful. Truly. Wish I could say I was shocked. Guess my family doesn’t count, when it comes to my ‘friend’s’ virtue signaling for those who support terror, and incite Jew hatred.”

Draiman was also booed during the Back To The Beginning show, which he’s since addressed.

To reiterate – Draiman signed the missile in June 2024. This was after the events of October 7, 2023 when Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas, launched a large-scale, coordinated attack on Israel from Gaza. The assault resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 Israelis – most of them civilians – in areas near the Gaza border and at a music festival. Additionally, over 200 individuals were taken hostage and transported into Gaza.

Since that attack, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has drawn widespread international criticism, with tens of thousands of Palestinians killed and more than 1.9 million displaced. Numerous global leaders, human rights organizations, and legal experts have raised alarms to the points where the word “genocide” is being used quite a bit (and “war crimes”) to describe Israel’s actions.