Draiman Blasts Tom Morello Over Support for Kneecap

During a recent appearance on The Strombo Show, Tom Morello called Kneecap “the Rage Against the Machine of now” before defending their controversial political nature. This has led to Disturbed vocalist David Draiman blasting Morello over his support for the provocative Irish rap outfit.

What Morello Said + Draiman’s Response

During the episode of The Strombo Show – uploaded to YouTube on July 1, 2025 – Morello was asked if he “still find[s] young artists” who’re carrying the anti-establishment torch like RATM did. Morello mentioned The Neighborhood Kids and Nova Twins before saying that Kneecap are “at the top of the list,” adding: “They’re clearly the Rage Against the Machine of now. Like, there’s them and then there’s a gap to the next one.”

He’s then asked about his thoughts on Kneecap’s May 2025 terrorism charge for “a human rights thing,” to which Morello replied:

What they’re doing in their art is what people could probably stand to do more in their lives, is to really speak truth to power. And, you know, Kneecap are not terrorists. What is terroristic is, you know, 20,000 dead Palestinian children. That’s the story. . . . Not some Irish rappers who don’t like that that’s happening. [That] should not be the story.

You can see the clip in question below:

Yesterday (July 12), Draiman tweeted a link to Far Out Magazine’s story about the interview, commenting: “Shameful. Truly. Wish I could say I was shocked. Guess my family doesn’t count, when it comes to my ‘friend’s’ virtue signaling for those who support terror, and incite Jew hatred.”

You can see his post below:

As Metal Injection notes, “Kneecap’s controversial stance on Israel and ongoing war in Gaza has sparked backlash—most vocally from Draiman,” because – as Consequence clarifies – Draiman “is Jewish and . . . has family members who live in Israel.”

Naturally, Draiman’s tweet was met with mixed reactions.

For instance, one person replied: “Morello is a repellent communist and a terrorist sympathizer,” whereas another user said:

Tom is often in the north of Ireland and is well liked whenever he visits. He’s well aware of the struggle our people faced and our support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom. Tom’s on the right side of history. You signed bombs that got dropped on innocent people in Gaza. I don’t think he’d consider you a “friend” at all.

Of course, and as Metal Injection explains, that latter tweet is referencing the fact that Draiman “has drawn some pretty hefty criticism over the past two years ever since he visited Israel with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and signed an artillery shell with the phrase ‘Fuck Hamas.’”

Metal Injection add:

To reiterate – Draiman signed the missile in June 2024. This was after the events of October 7, 2023 when Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas, launched a large-scale, coordinated attack on Israel from Gaza. The assault resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 Israelis – most of them civilians – in areas near the Gaza border and at a music festival. Additionally, over 200 individuals were taken hostage and transported into Gaza.

As of this writing, Morello hasn’t responded to Draiman’s words, and it doesn’t look like Draiman has replied to anyone in the comments section of his tweet.

READ MORE: Tom Morello Discusses Rage Against the Machine’s Legacy While Celebrating New Solo Music

More About Kneecap Controversies

As already alluded to, Kneecap have always been a brazenly polarizing political act, with their performance at Coachella back in April drawing widespread criticism for its blatant rallying against Israel.

Kneecap claimed that after week one of the two-week event, “the festival had censored their pro-Palestine messages as well as an anti-Margaret Thatcher chant during their performance” (per Loudwire).

As Loudwire reported at the time, Sharon Osbourne was among the most vocal critics of the performance. She “called out festival organizers for allowing the statements of anti-Israel hate speech to be shared,” and her sentiments received “praise” and “a social media share from Disturbed’s David Draiman.”

Specifically, Osbourne wrote on social media [via Loudwire]:

Coachella 2025 will be remembered as a festival that compromised its moral and spiritual integrity. Goldenvoice, the festival organizer, facilitated this by allowing artists to use the Coachella stage as a platform for political expression. Kneecap, an Irish rap group, took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements. Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech and this band openly support terrorist organizations. This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and further shows they are booked to play in the USA.

Days later, Kneecap responded to Osbourne, with vocalist Mo Chara telling Rolling Stone:

Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply but she should listen to ‘War Pigs’ that was written by Black Sabbath (her husband). . . . People can make their own decisions about whether our message is anti-Israel, but for us, it’s about their government’s sickening actions, not ordinary people. Our message is about ending the genocide and ending the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine. . . . We want people to take whatever action they can to stop the genocide. People can take what they want from our music, stopping the genocide is more important.

Other Recent News Involving Draiman + Morello

As Metal Injection reported, Draiman was booed during his appearance at Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham, England on July 5. Draiman took the stage as part of Morello’s All Stars performance – singing “Shot in the Dark” and “Sweet Leaf” – and was “met with a significant amount of boos” (likely due to his aforementioned meeting with the IDF).

The following day, Draiman took to social media to clarify that he “wasn’t ‘booed off the stage’ as so many people in the press and CERTAINLY #FreePalestine crowd, would have you believe.” He expounded [transcribed by Metal Injection]:

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. 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.

The live stream shows the truth. Both songs went over great. You wouldn’t know that from some of the media however, who are only too eager to roast marshmallows next to this dumpster fire of a bullshit story. Oh well. Still here. Still coming back to the UK in the fall to what’s shaping up to be a VERY successful run, if ticket sales are any indication. 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.

You can see his post below:

As for Morello, he was one of several rockers protesting Donald Trump’s ICE Raids and deployment of the National Guard back in June. He – as well as Evanescence’s Amy Lee – joined the June 14 “No Kings” protests against Trump’s birthday/military parade in Washington, D.C.

On July 1, he joined Loudwire Nights to “dive into Back to the Beginning and what it meant for him to be asked by Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne to curate the event.” The following week, he stopped by again to “celebrate the release of his latest solo track, ‘Pretend You Remember Me.’” and discuss Rage Against the Machine’s legacy.