Disturbed frontman David Draiman has opened up about his controversial support for Israel, saying he’s no longer fazed over the public’s opinion of his political views.

Draiman – who is of Jewish descent – has long been a staunch advocate of the Israeli state. In 2019, for example, he derided ex-Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters “and his Nazi comrades” for their demands to boycott Israel. That same year, Disturbed made their live debut in Israel and performed its national anthem, the Hatikva. 

In a new interview for The Jerusalem Post Podcast, Draiman explained that he was spurred to declare his support for Israel after seeing an increase in antisemitic attacks around the US. He said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “The number of blatant, public, unapologetic attacks that have occurred in particular of late, particularly over the course of the past three to five years, really, really hit a nerve with me. 

“Jews are attacked on the streets of New York City, whether it’s Brooklyn or anywhere else, on a regular basis at this point. The attacks occur in Los Angeles; they occur in Southern Florida – they occur all over the place… And [the attackers have] been emboldened from several factors from a world that has become increasingly demonising of not only Israel but of Jews in general.”

Draiman noted the rise in conspiracy theorist rhetoric throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it encouraged those spreading it to “blame the Jewish people again for some aspect of their suffering”. 

Referencing his recent return to social media, Draiman continued: “It’s just a very, very frightening time to me. And being a parent in this world to a child of a mixed family – a mixed family that consists of two of the demographics that probably currently are the most attacked, Jews and Asians – I felt very compelled to try and see if I could once again utilise this platform that I’ve been blessed with and follow my conscience a little bit more.”

The singer went on to address the controversy caused by his recent comments – which had apparently cost him thousands of followers – by shrugging off his critics. “Thankfully I’ve reached a point in my career where I really don’t give a shit anymore,” he joked. 

“If somebody wants to go ahead and cast their stones at me, they know that I’m very, very careful about separating what I do as a musician from who I am as an individual, and if they can’t come to terms with it, then that’s their problem. I honestly don’t see people not coming to our shows because I’m continuing to talk about something that they’ve already known for two decades. 

“I don’t care. I’ve made my money, we have our band, they know who I am, I know who they are, and they love us for it regardless.”

Last month, Draiman waded into Neil Young’s row with Spotify – after Young called the streaming giant out for its perceived support of Joe Rogan’s vaccine misinformation – applauding Spotify for siding with Rogan. “I may not agree with everything [Rogan] or his guests say, but they’re entitled to have the forum to say it,” Draiman tweeted.

Disturbed’s most recent release was a cover of the 1993 Sting track ‘If I Ever Lose My Faith in You’. The metal outfit have a long-running interest in older pop hits, having covered the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, Tears for Fears and Genesis in recent years.