David Draiman intervenes after metal singer faces backlash

Disturbed’s David Draiman took to social media to respond to criticism from Emmure singer Frankie Palmeri for expressing his enthusiasm for the band’s music. This comes after Draiman came under fire last month when he visited the Israel Defense Forces and posed for a photo signing an artillery shell with the phrase “Fuck Hamas.”

Draiman is one of the most vocal musicians when it comes to denouncing anti-Semitism and expressing support for Israel, and his efforts recently earned him the Jerusalem Post/World Zionist Organization’s 2024 joint award for outstanding contributions to the fight against anti-Semitism.

However, some interpreted Draiman’s visit to the Israeli army and signing of the artillery shell as a sign of support for genocide denial, which was also the reason for some of the comments directed at Palmeri after he expressed his appreciation for Disturbed’s music.

What Frankie Palmeri said + the backlash

On Tuesday (July 2), Palmeri tweeted on X, “I’m messing with Disturbed,” adding the “100” emoji. This tweet sparked some critical reactions, and Palmeri responded to some who criticized him.

When someone suggested he should never receive another penny, adding, “Genocide denial should have absolutely no place in the music scene,” Palmeri responded, “Genocide denial? You’re crazy. I love it. Thanks for looking after me, buddy. Do you want a ticket to Palestine too? Just PM me your info. You can liberate them or whatever. I’m eating sushi right now. Shouldn’t I? Does that make things worse? I’m just curious.”

Another commenter suggested that as an American he had “an advantage in this race,” to which Palmeri replied, “No. Look. The thing is, I don’t care. I’m invested in my own life. I’m going to focus on making sure it goes well. A war that’s been going on since before I was born? No interest. I’ve got other things going on. Hopefully they’ll get it done. Yours sincerely.”

Then the band Heavy/Hitter chimed in, telling the singer: “I mean, I definitely wouldn’t mess with someone who signs a bomb that’s going to kill children. If you don’t care and you like the music, then that’s you. But don’t be surprised if people are upset. There’s a lot of blood on the hands of the Israeli army.”

The Emmure singer then commented: “People can think what they want about David Draiman. I don’t know him. I know he has one of the greatest voices ever in the heavy music genre. His political and ideological views? None of my business. So I’m not going to stop enjoying the music.”

This is how David Draiman reacted

After Palmeri commented that he was more interested in the music than the political viewpoints, Draiman jumped into the social media conversation. At this point, the Disturbed singer expressed his appreciation for Palmeri’s flattering words and used the platform to respond to the “genocide” accusation in the back-and-forth from Palmeri’s X-followers.

“Dear brother,” Draiman noted, before adding, “Just to clarify, I am not ‘pro-genocide’ or anything like that. I am pro-peace and coexistence among ALL PEOPLE. It always has been this way and it always will be this way.”

He added: “Nobody longs for a LASTING, REAL peace between #Israelis and #Palestinians more than I do. But that cannot happen when a genocidal death cult (#Hamas) that has massacred, tortured, raped and kidnapped innocents takes over the government of #Gaza. War is hell, it is tragic beyond words, but this war and all the bloodshed that comes with it is Hamas’ fault.”

READ MORE: David Draiman would “gladly serve a prison sentence” if he ever met Roger Waters

The singer continued: “For both #Israelis and #Palestinians to have a chance at a real future of coexistence, the cancer called #Hamas must be eradicated. If they simply released the #hostages and surrendered, this would all be over, but instead they enjoy voluntarily sacrificing their own citizens, … using them as human shields and leveraging their ongoing and insane martyrdom to gain support on the world stage. It’s an absolutely horrific situation, but as much as it pains us to do what we must do to defend ourselves, losing our own loved ones in the process.”

“We are not ready to die for their madness,” the singer added. “We are not going anywhere. None of us. This is a reality that will not go away, period. I pray that this horror will soon be over. My family (more than 2,000 people who have lived in Israel since the end of the 19th century) is tired of war. We all are.”