Gilad Reacts To 'Hatred' He Received On X After Releasing Song Supporting Israel: "Deep Pain"

• Gilad blessed his listeners with another banger, Never Again, and in the new song, he touches on the heart of Israelis
• In an exclusive with TUKO.co.ke, the talented musician noted that he has received both positive and negative criticism for the new song
• The song, he said, amplifies his passion further to support Israel, noting that the song echoed a historical cry of the Jewish people

Celebrated singer and songwriter Gilad has released a new song titled Never Again.

1. You released a song Never Again, can you tell us about it? What was your inspiration?

"Never Again was written from a place of deep pain and sadness following the October 7th massacre of over 1400 innocent Israelis by Hamas terrorists. In the days that followed the attack, the magnitude and horror of the atrocities committed by these monsters began to come to light, and like most Jews around the world, I wanted to do something to help. Jews are a minority in this world. There are only 15 million of us, and we are like a family or a tribe. When something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.

Hamas slaugh**** babies, children, women, men, and the elderly, and burned entire families huddled together. They murdered hundreds of innocent Israelis at the Nova Music Festival. They kidnapped over 200 babies, children, women, men, and the elderly in Gaza and are still holding so many as hostages. None of us has ever seen anything like it.

In the days that followed, instead of reading posts from friends about standing with Israel and praying for Israel, as we had all posted for any other country or city that was suffering from terror or an earthquake, like many Jews in Israel and around the world, I found myself defending Israel against those who said the massacre ‘didn’t happen’, or that ‘it was justified’, or that ‘we somehow had it coming to us’. Instead of a global out-pour of love for Israel, I saw some of the biggest names in the world—people I follow on social media who stand up for almost anything but remain quiet.

The message of the song ‘Never Again’ echoes a historical cry of the Jewish people following the genocide of six million Jews in the Holocaust by the Nazis, and the birth of the modern state of Israel, that NEVER AGAIN will Jews be homeless and defenceless, and NEVER AGAIN should the world sit in silence as Jews are targeted just for being Jews."

2. Tell us more about your roots?

"I was born in Israel, as were both my parents. My grandparents, who are originally from Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and Latvia, all escaped the Nazis in the early 1930’s and came to Israel, then under British colonial rule. My father’s father lost everyone he had in the Holocaust, together with six million Jews murdered by Hitler’s Nazis.

My father was a 37-year-career Israeli diplomat, and as a result, I grew up around the world in Germany, London, New York, Turkey, and, of course, Jerusalem. I am a proud Israeli and a proud Jew. In 2021, I was granted Kenyan citizenship, coming full circle with my travels around the world, having found another home where I feel like I belong."

3. What is the feedback you have been receiving? Does it fuel your support for Israe?

"I have received a lot of excellent feedback from friends and colleagues in the music and entertainment industry as well as from Kenyans and Jews from Israel and around the world who are supportive and even happy that such a message has been put out there in this way. At the same time, when I shared the link to X (Twitter), where there are no ‘community guidelines’ and people can say what they want, for 48 hours, I trended, with over 11,000 tweets, most of them full of hatred, antisemitism and things I would rather not repeat.

In over 20 years in Kenya, I have never seen anything like that, and while the people on Twitter absolutely do not represent the majority of Kenyans praying for Israel all over the country, it was sad to see such a thing happen. It didn’t bother me so much that it was directed at me, more that the hateful display of antisemitism happened in Kenya, and I’ve never seen that before.

Seeing people are hating without really knowing the history or the truth motivates me to work harder and speak and sing louder, and pray more so that those people will get it. We are dealing with darkness and light, good and evil, not politics. This isn’t about land. This is about a genocidal, fundamentalist Islamic movement, which prescribes to a culture of death, and Israel is on the global front lines fighting for everyone."

4. How is it like being a Jew here in Kenya? Do you think there is a lot of misinformation surrounding the fight between Israel and Palestine? Maybe educate readers from your POV?

"In over twenty years in Kenya, I have never had anyone say a bad word to me because of being Jewish. Neither have I ever encountered hatred of Jews in the media, on social media, in public or anywhere else. I find that many Kenyans don’t know about the Jewish religion, and once it is explained, everyone embraces you warmly.

We have a small but warm Jewish community in Nairobi, and we have a synagogue where we pray. We have an amazing Rabbi who leads a religious life. We are comfortable practising our religion freely in Kenya, where it is allowed, respected, and protected as a freedom of worship.

When it comes to the Palestinians, there is an unprecedented amount of misinformation and straight-out lies in the media and on social media. People don’t know what to believe anymore. Many don’t know the difference between a Palestinian civilian and a terrorist from Hamas, who, in the case of Gaza, uses the same innocent Palestinian as a ‘human shield’ and ensuring the hatred against Israel and Jews continues to grow.

After all, if Hamas really had the interests of the Palestinians at heart, we might see them protecting or helping civilians, but the opposite is true. Hamas is executing Palestinians trying to escape to designated ‘safe zones’. As a former journalist, I find it wrong that the world and so many international media outlets have agreed to take all their Gaza-related information from a recognised terrorist organisation, which has done horrendous things. And yet Hamas is single-handedly reported numbers and statistics to the world, and everyone is just eating it up, and I say to myself, ‘don’t they see? How can such a thing happen?’ and yet this is the reality.

It is said that when a lie is told three times, it becomes the truth. If you say and tweet and post it millions of times, then lies become like facts written in stone, and it is almost impossible to convince people of the truth."

5. You also put out Champion right before Jamhuri. What is it like to be an artiste in Kenya since you have been in the industry for years now?

"'Champion’ was a project of the Permanent Presidential Music Commission (PPMC) who approached me to collaborate with the incredibly talented Johnny Skani and legends Nazizi and Wyre. Needless to say, I am a huge fan of Necessary Noise, so when I was offered the project by VDJ Space, who produced the song, I jumped at it. I never imagined that it would place me centre stage at Uhuru Gardens performing for President William Ruto, the First Lady Rachel Ruto, dignitaries from Kenya, East Africa and around the world, and the people of Kenya. Anyone who knows me and knows how much I love this country and it’s people, recognizes what a huge honour and privilege this was for me, definitely ‘valid dreams’."

6. Your future projects? Who are you looking to collaborate with? Locally internationally

"I have been working on an album of new songs and really taking my time with it. Both ‘Champion’ and ‘Never Again’ came unexpectedly, as is often the case with art, and now most of my energy is focused towards gaining support for Israel in Kenya, Africa, and the world. Nothing means more than that now. The survival and right of Jews to exist in this world is once again threatened, and until I can feel that my family and loved ones are safe, I don’t see myself doing much else. When the time comes, I have a wish list of Kenyan and East African artists I would love to work with."

7. Some of your genres in the past were more love songs. Will your fans get more of that in the future?

"For sure, mimi ni Balozi wa Mapenzi. I am experimenting with several Kenyan and East African genres but I will always make sure to keep that light reggae touch in my love songs. Lots more coming majaliwa."

8. Any advice to younger and upcoming musicians on staying true to the craft?

"Stay true to yourselves. Don’t make music for what you hope or think people will like or say. Express yourself truly and enjoy the process. If you choose to make it more than a hobby and go professional, make sure to surround yourself with experienced professionals you can trust. And most importantly – enjoy the journey, that’s really all we have."

Which countries are supporting Israel?

In other news, the Israel-Palestine war is one of the armed conflicts rocking the universe, as the Israeli army continued to bomb the Gaza Strip.

This happened barely two years after the Russian military commenced its invasion of Ukraine, a neighbouring country.

Since Israel began the killings in Gaza, more than 9000 people have reportedly died, according to the Palestinian Authority, and some countries are supporting Israel; the US has taken the lead.

TUKO.co.ke compiled a list of the countries supporting Israel.