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    We all need a nice long break

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    "We all need a nice long break"

    David Draiman has announced that his band Disturbed are going on an indefinite hiatus – see what he had to say below.

    • READ MORE: Kneecap on the cover: giving peace, protest and partying a chance

    Last week, the metal frontman took to social media to announce that the band are going on a break after concluding their 25th anniversary ‘The Sickness’ tour. Draiman wrote: “Not sure when we will be headed back out. We all need a nice long break. Hope to see you when we do.”

    While unconfirmed, Draiman’s post suggest that the hiatus will only affect the band’s touring.

    The hiatus comes after Draiman’s support for Israel reportedly caused the band’s concert in Belgium in mid-October to be cancelled. Charles Spapens, mayor of Forest – a municipality of Brussels – gave a statement to The Brussels Times at the time, taking ownership of the decision and shedding light on police advice he’d received ahead of the concert.

    “My responsibility and priority are the safety of residents, neighbours, demonstrators, spectators and staff at Forest National,” he said. “Given the police’s negative advice and the venue’s unique location, it was my duty to make this decision.”

    He had previously described it as a “moral problem”, saying last month: “This is about a man who signed a bomb that was dropped on Gaza. We do not support the presence of this artist, and even less so his position on Gaza.”

    Following the gig’s cancellation, Disturbed issued the following statement on social media: “Music is where all our differences fade into the background. Music has the power to heal, to inspire and to bring people together, it’s not about what divides us. We have always made it a point that at our shows ALL are welcome no matter what you believe. Everyone who comes to a Disturbed concert is accepted and loved. We are saddened that our fans in Belgium are not going to be able to share in this celebration of music.”

    This isn’t the first time Draiman’s support of Israel has drawn him criticism, although he appears indifferent to backlash. In 2022, he doubled-down on his support and said that he “doesn’t give a shit” if he alienated people with his pro-Israel stance.

    In the past, he sang the Israeli national anthem at one of Disturbed’s Tel Aviv concerts, and called Roger Waters a “monster” and “anti-Semitic to his rotten core“. Back in 2019, Draiman hit out at Waters, slamming the musician and his “Nazi comrades” for calling others to boycott Israel.

    Similarly, Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap have also been slammed by David Draiman, who earlier this year said that Tom Morello was “shameful” for backing them. The Rage Against The Machine guitarist had described them as “clearly the Rage Against The Machine of now”, and praised them for “speaking truth to power” in their outspoken support for the people of Palestine and criticism of the Israeli government.

    Things escalated again when Kneecap made an X/Twitter post about Draiman – sharing an image from 2024 that showed the singer signing artillery shells belonging to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) with messages including “Fuck Hamas”.

    In the caption, the trio wrote: “We don’t care what religion anyone is… or if they’ve one at all. We love all sound c**ts. Smiling and signing bombs to murder kids and other people’s families just makes you a straight up c**t. Simple as. Free Palestine.”

    Draiman swiftly responded to Kneecap, telling them to enjoy their “five minutes” in the spotlight: “Enjoy your five minutes gentlemen. It could have been done with your art, but instead you chose to do it with hatred. Bye now.”

    Most recently, Draiman said in late October on Twitter: “I wrote ‘FUCK HAMAS’ on one artillery shell, and I’d do it again. Without question.”

    Draiman’s continual support of Israel amid a mounting civilian death toll and ever worsening starvation saw him roundly booed at Ozzy Osbourne’s and Black Sabbath’s final live outing, prompting the following response on social media: “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.”

    He continued: “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… 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.”

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