Camera crews jostled with security personnel, reporters, and fans as heavy metal star David Draiman made his way across the plaza towards the Kotel (Western Wall). A young man dressed in typical Chasidic garb cut through the throng and approached him. “David, would you like to put on tefillin?” asked Rabbi Shmuli Weiss, Chabad representative to the Kotel. “Aww, it’s been so long since I’ve done that,” the singer replied.
As fans watched and cameras flashed, David wrapped tefillin and said the Shema prayer. “Lubavitchers will always take care of you,” he remarked as he posed for a picture with Chabad at the Kotel representatives.
The American singer/songwriter, most famously known as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band, “Disturbed,” is in Israel on a six-day visit in response to last week’s terrorist attack in which South African Lone Soldier Eli Kay, 26, was shot dead, and four others wounded, by a Hamas terrorist. Draiman told the Jerusalem Post that he came to Israel to make a statement in light of the biased reporting of the event in the media. “The coverage was reprehensible in the vast majority of American and European media,” said Draiman. “It’s scandalous how they presented it. Headlines like ‘Palestinian shot dead.’ Well, why was the Palestinian shot dead? Because he was perpetrating a terrorist attack. I love how the context is always flipped around.”
David lit a candle at the spot where Eli was murdered and prayed at the Kotel. “A truly wonderful day,” he captioned the pictures he shared in his Instagram post.
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Miriam Cohen
So proud to be your sister, Rabbi Shmueli Weiss, and Ashira Weiss.