DAVID DRAIMAN Responds To Boos At BLACK SABBATH Show: “I Will ALWAYS Stand Up For My People”

It all started for Disturbed vocalist David Draiman in June 2024 when he visited Israel with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and signed an artillery shell with the phrase “Fuck Hamas.” 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. Against this backdrop, Draiman‘s post — which remains live as of this writing — has become a flashpoint of controversy.

All of this is to say that when Draiman took the stage at Black Sabbath‘s Back To The Beginning show, he received quite a few boos from the crowd. Draiman has since issued a statement that’s pretty much as defiant as you’d expect it to be. A few notes before we get to that, which you can read below:

• I agree with Draiman that it’s wrong for anyone to have reported this as him being booed off stage. He wasn’t
• Draiman frames this all as “inciting hatred of Jews.” Not the case. Opposing a country’s actions doesn’t mean a sweeping condemnation of all the people associated with that country. Criticism can be specific, and people of a country can disagree with their government’s actions
• “I wasn’t about to let a few Jew hating morons deter that” – see above
• “Both songs went over great. You wouldn’t know that from some of the media however, who are only too eager to roast marshmallows next to this dumpster fire of a bullshit story.” I mean, media outlets also included footage of the show so… it’s not like people don’t that? And again – this an extremely hot topic in the news right now, and you signed bombs in 2024 dude. Extreme opinions draw extreme blowback

“Part of the live stream of my performance at #backtothebeginning celebrating the legacy of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. As you can see…I wasn’t ‘booed off stage’ as so many people in the press and CERTAINLY #FreePalestine crowd, would have you believe. Yes, there were a few boos when I walked out, but I came to pay homage to my teachers, my idols, the mighty Black Sabbath, and I wasn’t about to let a few Jew hating morons deter that.

“It’s all about feeding their narrative, generating clickbait, and inciting hatred of Jews. There’s even a track being passed around out there that added enhanced booing to the performance just to add fuel to the fire. Pathetic. The live stream shows the truth. Both songs went over great. You wouldn’t know that from some of the media however, who are only too eager to roast marshmallows next to this dumpster fire of a bullshit story. Oh well.

“Still here. Still coming back to the UK in the fall to what’s shaping up to be a VERY successful run, if ticket sales are any indication. And I am STILL UNAPOLOGETICALLY A FIERCELY PRO ISRAEL JEW . I will ALWAYS stand up for my people, and I won’t be deterred, intimidated, or shamed out of rocking the asses of the masses. Put that in your pipes and smoke it.”