DAVID DRAIMAN Says He Still Wants To Sing U.S. National Anthem, Rips 'Opinionated Morons' Who Post Comments On BLABBERMOUTH.NET

In a new interview with Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman was asked what it was like to sing a mid-show a capella rendition of the Israeli national anthem "Hatikvah" at the band's concerts in Tel Aviv last month. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Transcendent. It really, really was. Such a sense of unity and community and just empowerment and bringing everybody together for a moment to forget the chaos of the world around us. And my family was there in attendance, and so it was truly, truly a beautiful, beautiful moment."

Draiman, who was born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1973 before moving to Chicago, Illinois when he was almost three years old, went on to say that he has never had the opportunity to sing the U.S. national anthem at a public event in his home country. "The only place that I've actually sung the [U.S.] national anthem in is my shower [laughs], and I'd very much like to sing it live — the United States national anthem whenever I'm gifted the opportunity to do so," he said. "I've been asking to do it for quite a long time. I'd love to do it… I know that I'm aiming high, and I'd love to try and sing it at the Super Bowl one day. I'd love to just do it in general. I love 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. I think it's a beautiful, beautiful song. I've got a version, my own rendition of it that I've literally been rehearsing in my shower most of my life, and if the opportunity ever presents itself, I'll be running to do it. I'd love to do it at something that makes sense."

Draiman went on to say that he has "never been asked" by anyone to sing the U.S. national anthem at a public event. He added: "The first time I do it, I want it to be the right environment and the right setting, but I've never been asked. So, hey, NFL, I'm here. I'd love to do it. Let me know. And it doesn't have to be NFL specifically. I'd do it at the right sporting event or whatever kind of event that makes sense. I love it. I'm fiercely patriotic. I love my home, I love the United States and I would love the opportunity to do it anytime anywhere."

When Bingham expressed his hope that David's comments might get picked up by a web site like BLABBERMOUTH.NET, potentially spreading the word and helping it possible for Draiman to live out his dream of singing the U.S. national anthem at an upcoming event, David said: "Your mouth to God's ears, buddy. That definitely is the one thing that a publication like Blabbermouth is very, very good for, is they at least can start the process. And you know what? All things being considered, I have a lot to thank those guys for, because they typically are one of the first couple of dominos that starts the chain reaction. It's not even so much the guys at Blabbermouth proper that are an issue; it's the cavalcade of very, very opinionated morons that tend to comment after every single damn thing that make things interesting, which I stopped reading those comments many, many years ago."

In addition to the Hebrew-speaking Draiman, who once trained to be a cantor and contemplated becoming a rabbi, DISTURBED includes guitarist/keyboardist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer and drummer Mike Wengren.

Draiman's father and grandfather served in the Israel Defense Forces and both of the singer's maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. His grandfather was also a cantor in Israel.

In December 2021, Draiman said that he had lost thousands of social media followers since publicizing his trip to Israel in November of that year.

On November 30, 2021, Draiman lit a candle at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel at the Old City site of the terror attack that killed South African immigrant Eli Kay. He later claimed that he lost 4,000 followers after sharing photos of his "demonstration" at the Western Wall.

Draiman spent much of 2014 and early 2015 linking to articles by conservative and pro-Israel blogs and has often used his fame to speak out against anti-Semitism.

DISTURBED's song "Never Again", from 2010's "Asylum" album, was written about the Holocaust and calls out people who deny it.

The United States Holocaust Museum has featured Draiman in its "Voices On Anti-Semitism" podcasts.