Disturbed Lead Singer During Tel Aviv Concert: “F— Roger Waters”

Disturbed lead singer David Draiman declared “F— Roger Waters” during the heavy metal band’s June 28 Tel Aviv concert, which was met with loud applause.

“F— Roger Waters and all the rest of his f—ing BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanction] Nazi a–holes,” Draiman said onstage at the Tel Aviv Expo. “Every last f—ing one of them. We don’t need that s—. We’ve survived worse than them and we’ll continue surviving worse than them. They can make up any lie they want, they can create any bulls— story they want, we know the truth, history knows the truth, we are not going any f—ing where.” At that point, the audience started chanting, “David! David!”

“Besides, even though we’ve gone through some dark periods in our history … sometimes darkness can show you the light,” Draiman added, referencing the Disturbed song “The Light.”

Hey, @rogerwaters 😂 @davidmdraiman has a message for you all the way from #Israel 🇮🇱

Tonight's @Disturbed concert in #TelAviv pic.twitter.com/6xALIm0cwV

— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) June 28, 2023

Waters, the former Pink Floyd bassist and frontman, has come under fire after donning a Nazi-style uniform and comparing Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to Anne Frank during a couple of his concerts in May; Waters has argued that the uniform is a satirical way of speaking out against fascism and that Abu Akleh and Frank were listed among those who were “killed either by militarized police or by tyrannical racist regimes.”

Draiman has long been a staunch critic of Waters. In a 2019 video interview with the Bring Disturbed to Israel Facebook page, Draiman said regarding Waters and BDS: “The very notion that Waters and the rest of his Nazi comrades decide that this is the way to go ahead and foster change is absolute lunacy and idiocy. It makes no sense whatsoever. It’s only based on hatred of a culture and of a people in a society that has been demonized unjustifiably since the beginning of time.” Draiman also chastised Waters’ use of a Star of David on a flying pig during a 2013 show as being “abhorrent and blatantly antisemitic.”

Also during Disturbed’s June 28 Tel Aviv concert, Draiman gave a stirring rendition of the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah” while donning an Israel Defense Force (IDF) tank-top. At one point Draiman said, per the Jerusalem Post: “As you can see by my attire, I couldn’t be more proud to be Jewish, Israeli.”

An incredible performance of #Israel’s national anthem #HaTikva by lead singer of @Disturbed, the talented @davidmdraiman ♥️🇮🇱. pic.twitter.com/6TpKIWXded

— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) June 29, 2023