Disturbed‘s David Draiman has invited Franz Ferdinand for a discussion after the band hit out at the Israeli Defense Forces for using ‘Take Me Out’ in a propaganda video.
In the video, the song plays over footage of fighter planes and ground explosions, while an Israeli soldier extols their recent deadly airstrikes in Iran. The IDF have labelled the post: “Operation Roaring Lion – this is how it’s done.”
In response, Franz frontman Alex Kapranos wrote: “These warmongering murderers are using our music without our consent. This makes us both nauseous and furious. Kind of typical though, isn’t it? To strut up and take what isn’t theirs with a vile arrogance…”
On February 28, Israel and the US launched joint airstrikes across Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and targeting hundreds of other military and leadership sites. The strikes have provoked retaliatory attacks, with the situation now threatening to escalate into a wider regional war. Israel labelled the initial attacks Operation Roaring Lion, with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing it as a campaign to “put an end to the threat from the Ayatollah regime in Iran”.
Dear @Franz_Ferdinand
I’d love to have the opportunity to discuss with you the nuances and details you might be missing when it comes to Israelis/Jews like me, and the conflict we have been praying to end for decades.
I can understand your anger at your music being used… pic.twitter.com/J766wts62N
— David Draiman 🟦🇺🇸🇮🇱✡️☮️ (@davidmdraiman) March 10, 2026
Following Kapranos’ comments, Draiman has taken to X to respond, writing: “Dear @Franz_Ferdinand I’d love to have the opportunity to discuss with you the nuances and details you might be missing when it comes to Israelis/Jews like me, and the conflict we have been praying to end for decades.
“I can understand your anger at your music being used without consent, but your demonization of the Israeli people dishonors both your band and the song itself. Would love to discuss a better way for all of us to better understand each other. My door is open. I hope to hear back from you.”
The band are yet to respond to the Disturbed frontman.
Draiman has come under fire for his support of Israel. In 2022 he said that he “doesn’t give a shit” if he alienated people with his pro-Israel stance.
In the past, he sung the Israeli national anthem at one of Disturbed’s Tel Aviv concerts, he called Roger Waters a “monster” and “antisemitic 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 were also slammed by the frontman last year, who 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.”
A show in Belgium last October was also reportedly cancelled because of safety risks posed by Draiman’s support of Israel.
Other artists he has called upon for discussion are Green Day after they changed the lyrics to ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ at last year’s Coachella.
More recently, Draiman hit back at Jack White‘s criticism of Donald Trump‘s attack on Iran, and offered him an “open invitation” to discuss the matter.
Franz Ferdinand meanwhile are currently in the middle of a UK and European tour, in support of their seventh album ‘The Human Fear’, which was released last year. The UK shows continue this week, including a date at London’s Brixton Academy tonight (March 11) – see all of the dates and ticket information here.
