A Disturbed show in Belgium has reportedly been cancelled because of safety risks posed by David Draiman’s support of Israel.
The metal band were set to play alongside Megadeth at Belgium’s Forest National next Wednesday (October 15). However, reports now indicate the show won’t go ahead, after a local mayor ordered the show to be axed over safety concerns tied to Draiman’s support of Israel.
Charles Spapens, mayor of Forest – a municipality of Brussels – gave a statement to The Brussels Times, 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.”
His decision came after a police risk assessment warned that Draiman’s appearance could lead to violent demonstrations around the venue. It was also influenced by a national strike set to take place a day earlier in Brussels, as well as the anticipation of other demonstrations that may occur in the area.
Visiting with the @IDF #Israel #NeverAgain #FuckHamas #AmYisraelChai pic.twitter.com/mc0wBVn1wS
— David Draiman (@davidmdraiman) June 17, 2024
NME has contacted Disturbed for comment.
This isn’t the first time Draiman has come under fire for support of Israel, although he appears indifferent to backlash. In fact, he doubled down in 2022 and said that he “doesn’t give a shit” if he alienated people with his pro-Israel stance.
In the past, he’s sung the Israeli national anthem at one of Disturbed’s Tel Aviv concerts, he 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. Likewise, Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap have also been slammed by the frontman, who earlier this year said that Tom Morello was “shameful” for backing them.
The soloist and 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 then 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.”
It appears that it’s those images in particular thar raised the most concern for Mayor Spapens and local authorities in Belguim.
Draiman’s continual support of Israel amid a mounting civilian death toll and ever worsening starvation saw him roundly booed at Black Sabbath’s final live outing. His involvement in the ‘Back to the Beginning’ show came through Sharon Osbourne, who has similarly hit out at Kneecap.
After they led chants of “Free Palestine” at Coachella, she called for a “revocation” of their work visa and claimed that their performance “compromised” the festival’s “moral and spiritual integrity”. The band then retaliated by saying: “Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.”
Sharon Osbourne then hit out at the band once again and branded the trio as “pathetic”, “uneducated” and “full of hate”. “My whole stance is have your own stance politically, couldn’t give a damn what you believe in but don’t bring it to a musical festival where there’s peace. Music unites people, music doesn’t separate people.”
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