Watch Disturbed call for “unity” onstage as David Draiman continues to weather backlash for signing an Israeli bomb

Disturbed singer David Draiman onstage in 2025 — (Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Disturbed have again responded to the controversy surrounding lead singer David Draiman, who last year signed a bomb set to be used by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).

Since Draiman took to social media and published a picture of himself writing “Fuck Hamas” on a projectile shell in June 2024, he’s been the subject of intense debate. The backlash against the frontman’s actions came to a head last week, when the mayor of Vorst, Belgium cancelled a scheduled concert from Draiman’s Platinum-selling heavy metal band.

Charles Spapens explained that he pulled the plug due to public safety fears, following plans from activist groups to protest outside of the gig. Disturbed responded via social media on Monday (October 13), saying, “Music has the power to heal, to inspire and to bring people together, it’s not about what divides us.”

On Tuesday (October 14), the band responded once more, this time in person during their concert at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Onstage, Draiman called for “unity”, adding, “The conflicts that are going on in this world don’t define us.”

Video of the singer’s speech, during which he was flanked by his three bandmates, was then shared by Disturbed’s social media accounts.

“Instead of listening to the people who can’t stop talking about everything that they’re so angry about all of the goddamn time, we’re going to tell you from our own mouths how we feel,” Draiman says in the footage (via The PRP).

“We in Disturbed are all about unity, OK? We’re all about, no matter who you are, no matter what walk of life you walk, no matter where you come from, no matter how much money is in your pocket, you are welcome at these shows. You understand that?”

He later adds: “The conflicts that are going on in this world don’t define us, because in this building, there is no fucking conflict. And it doesn’t matter if you’re Chinese or Taiwanese. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Indian or Pakistani, it doesn’t matter whether you are Israeli or Palestinian. Everyone is welcome in our house every fucking time we take the stage.”

The singer then urges the audience to hold one another’s hands and lift them into the air as a show of solidarity. Watch the full clip below.

During the speech, Draiman does not explicitly acknowledge the picture of him signing an IDF bomb that instigated the controversy around him. In July this year, after he was booed during an appearance at Ozzy Osbourne’s retirement concert Back To The Beginning, the singer doubled down on his pro-Israel stance. In a statement, he called those who booed him “a few Jew-hating morons” and said he was “still unapologetically a fiercely pro-Israel Jew”.

Conflict between Israel and Palestine has been ongoing for decades, but it intensified after Hamas, a Palestinian nationalist terrorist group, attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

Between those attacks and September 2025, more than 64,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to The Guardian. The UN Human Rights Council has called Israel’s actions in the region genocide, although Israel has denied having genocidal intent. A ceasefire has been in effect since October 10, and all 20 remaining living Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas.

Disturbed’s European tour, celebrating 25 years since the release of their debut album The Sickness, continues at Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany on Friday (October 17).

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Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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