Green Day’s pro-Palestine lyrics at Coachella ‘beyond disheartening’

David Draiman of American metal band Disturbed performing in OsloAlamy Stock Photo

He told the JC: “I sent the message to have the chance to let him hear a different take, from someone who has a huge number of relatives currently living in Israel, who’ve had to live through the trauma and horrors of the wars we’ve been forced to wage.”

Draiman said he had met Armstrong and his band “a number of times”, and that Disturbed were staying at the same hotel when Green Day played the IHeartRadio Music Awards last year.

“I bought the guys a nice bottle of wine to show my appreciation for them,” Draiman said, adding that his son Sam enjoys playing their songs on guitar, having learnt them in his band practice at school.

An outspoken supporter of Israel on social media, Draiman led tributes to Jake Marlowe, the British-Israeli musician killed by Hamas while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival on October 7. He said he was disappointed that Armstrong used the festival to share his political views.

“I find it beyond disheartening. I know Billie is a staunch liberal, we share many of the same values,” he wrote to the JC. “It’s tragic how the left have embraced a movement that stands in direct contradiction to most of the values they claim to hold dear. You won’t find pro-choice [on abortion], pro-LGBTQIA voices in Gaza or pretty much anywhere else in the Middle East other than Israel.”

He said bands with huge platforms and followings like Green Day “need to be cautious with their influence”.

“It can have real life consequences and effects that may not be what you’d expect or want. We should always be open to hearing alternative viewpoints to further enhance our perception of situations as complex as the Arab/Israeli conflict.”

Armstrong has not responded to Draiman’s invitation on X.

Green Day have been known to make political statements in their music, with Armstrong changing lyrics to highlight his views. In the set opener American Idiot on Saturday, he switched a line to “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”