David Draiman Steps In After Metal Vocalist Gets Backlash

Disturbed‘s David Draiman stepped in on social media after Emmure vocalist Frankie Palmeri faced backlash for sharing his appreciation for the band’s music. This came after Draiman had received criticism last month while visiting with the Israeli Defense Forces and posing for a photo where he signed an artillery shell with the phrase “Fuck Hamas” on it.

Draiman has been one of the more vocal musicians when it comes to denouncing Antisemitsm and sharing his support of Israel. His efforts recently yielded him the 2024 joint honor from the Jerusalem Post and the World Zionist Organization for outstanding contribution to the fight against antisemitism.

But some took Draiman’s visit with the IDF and the signing of the artillery shell as a show of support for genocidal denial, which was also some of the commentary 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, stating, “I fuck with Disturbed” while adding the “100” emoji as well. That tweet started drawing some critical response, with Palmeri then addressing some who were calling him out.

When one person suggested he should never receive another penny and added, “Genocidal denial should have absolutely no place in the music scene,” Palmeri responded, “Genocide denial? You’re mental. I love it. Thanks for caring about little old me, pal. Would you also like a ticket to Palestine? Just PM your info. You can go free them or whatever. I’m eating sushi right now. Should I not? Is that making things worse? Just curious.”

Another commenter suggested that as an American, he did “have a dog in this race,” with Palmeri then responding, “No. Ya see. Here’s the thing, I don’t care. I’m invested in my own life. I’ll focus on making sure that goes well. A war that’s been waged since before I was born? Not interested. I have other shit going on. Hope they figure it out. Respectfully, yours.”

The band Heavy/Hitter then got involved, pointing out to the singer, “I mean someone signing a bomb thats gonna kill children definitely ain’t someone I would fuck with. If you don’t really care & like the music, that’s you. But don’t be surprised if people are upset. Lots of blood on IDF hands.”

The Emmure vocalist then commented, “People can feel however they want about David Draiman. I don’t know him. I know he’s got one of the greatest voices to ever touch the heavy music genre. His political and ideological stances? Not my business. I’m not going to stop enjoying the music, so.”

How David Draiman Responded

After Palmeri commented that he was more interested in the music than the political stances, Draiman then jumped into the social media conversation. It was at this point that the Disturbed vocalist shared his appreciation for Palmeri’s complimentary words and used the platform to respond to the “pro genocide” accusation within some of the back-and-forth from Palmeri’s X followers.

“Appreciated brother,” noted Draiman, before adding, “For the record, I am not ‘pro genocide,’ or anything of the sort. I am pro #peace and #coexistence between ALL PEOPLE. Always have been, always will be.”

He went on to add, “No one yearns for a LASTING, REAL peace between #Israelis and #Palestinians more than I. However, that can’t happen with a genocidal death cult (#Hamas), who massacred, tortured, raped, and kidnapped innocents, in charge of governing #Gaza. War is hell, it is tragic beyond description, but this war, and all bloodshed associated with it, is on Hamas’ hands.”

READ MORE: David Draiman ‘Would Gladly Serve Jail Time’ If He Ever Met Roger Waters

The singer continued, “For both #Israelis and #Palestinians to have the chance at a real future of coexistence, the cancer known as #Hamas must be eradicated. If they would just #ReleaseTheHostages, and surrender, this would all be over, but instead they enjoy WILLINGLY sacrificing their own citizens, …using them as human shields, and using their continued, and maddening martyrdom to garner support on the world stage. It’s an absolutely horrible situation, but, as much as it pains us to do what we must to defend ourselves, losing our own precious loved ones in the process.”

“We are not willing to die for the sake of their madness,” added the vocalist. “We aren’t going anywhere. Either of us. That’s a reality that won’t go away, period. I pray that this horror is over soon. My Family (2000+ that have lived in Israel since the late 1800’s) are tired of war. We all are.”