Matthew Paul Miller, a.k.a. Matisyahu, spoke out against the celebrities who have refrained from commenting on the war in Israel. “We’re all mourning, and we’re all feeling the weight of this horrible, horrible situation,” the reggae artist, 44, exclusively told HollywoodLife via FACTZ.
“For the people that are famous, that are out there, standing behind the Jews … I support them and I say, ‘Thank you,’” Matisyahu said, before adding, “And to the people that are too afraid to speak up, or the people that are putting up posts and then taking them down because they’re afraid they’re going to lose followers — and [that] they’re going to lose some of their fame or their standing — I have to say, I’m sorry for you. It’s bigger than your brand.”
Kylie Jenner posted — then deleted — a supportive note for Israel via her Instagram Stories over the weekend after receiving backlash. The since-deleted message read, “Now and always we stand with the people of Israel! SHARE if you stand with the people of Israel as they face one of the most frightening situations in many years.”
The “One Day” singer added that the war “isn’t just about Israel,” although “a lot of people try to claim that it is.”
“It’s about women and children being burned in the streets, being taken from their homes, and that’s not about land, that’s a religious war,” he continued. “Israel has to fight for their existence. Jews have had to fight for their right to exist since the beginning of time.”
The Israeli and Hamas conflict has persisted for years, but things came to a head over the past week when Hamas attacked the Gaza Strip communities in Israel. Hamas fired countless rockets at a music festival over the weekend, killing hundreds of civilians. The Palestinian militant group has ruled the Gaza Strip since it took control over it in 2007.
Matisyahu pointed out that Israel “wants to live in peace,” and he explained what would happen if the violence from Hamas ceased.
“If all of Israel’s enemies put down their weapons right now, there would be peace in the land, and everyone would live,” he pointed out, before insisting, “If Israel was to put down their weapons right now, they’d be abolished in one day; they would be massacred — men, women, children.”
The “King Without a Crown” artist then noted what he believes will happen next between Israel and Hamas.
“The next step is probably going to be a severe war,” Matisyahu added. “I don’t think that Israel is going to stand by while civilians are being taken from their homes — women, children, elderly — and paraded around the streets and massacred. I have a feeling that Israel is going to respond in a way that’s unprecedented.”
Matisyahu concluded, “Jews love to argue. We love to fight. We fight amongst each other. It’s a known thing. When Jews are being targeted for being Jewish, and women and children are being burned in the streets, something inside the Jewish people comes alive and we stand together.”