I’ve been an artist all my life. Music has always been my way of connecting with people, of finding common ground even when words fall short. But lately it feels like art itself is under attack. Anti-Semitism in America has become an untamed beast, and in Hollywood and the music industry it is taking an ugly form: a boycott culture aimed squarely at Israel and the Jewish people. Instead of promoting creativity and dialogue, too many artists are cutting ties, canceling collaborations and demonizing an entire nation. It sucks the oxygen out of art.
That’s exactly why I decided to do the opposite. I put my money where my mouth is – in the middle of a war – and put my energy into a project that means more to me than anything I’ve done in years. My new single, ‘On My Mind’, is about Israel and the Jewish people. And I didn’t just write about it; I shot the video clip there, with the country itself as a stage, and I collaborated with two special Israeli artists: rapper Shahar Saul and singer Maya Dadon.
HOLLYWOOD joins history’s shameful betrayal by blacklisting Jewish artists
Memorials at the site of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, on May 27, 2024. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The background was not a studio set or a green screen. It was Israel – raw, real, beautiful and alive.
For me it wasn’t just about making music. It was about getting up. While so many voices in entertainment are quick to target Israel when it has become fashionable to call for boycotts or spread half-truths and outright lies, I have chosen to join the only democracy in the Middle East, a place I love, and a people I admire.
Before you rush to scream “genocide” or launch into yet another anti-Semitic tirade, I have one simple challenge: go visit. See it with your own eyes. Because here’s the truth: there is nothing homogeneous about Israel.
It is a country with staggering diversity. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Armenians, Ethiopians and Bedouins – they all live, work and debate side by side. It is not one culture. There are dozens. It is not one ideology. It’s endless disagreements, arguments, protests and conversations – often louder and more chaotic than anything I’ve seen in America. And that’s the beauty of it. Israel is messy because it is alive. It’s lively. It’s free.
James Maslow, the American actor, singer and former Big Time Rush member, has been an outspoken advocate for Israel amid the entertainment industry’s largely critical attitude toward the country. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
I wish more people understood that Israel is the only democracy in the region. The only place where women can march without fear, where LGBTQ rights are protected, where citizens vote, criticize their leaders and fight to make their country better. The only place where the rule of law is more important than who holds the gun.
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As an artist, I cannot stand by while the cultural world abandons Israel and the Jewish people. Silence is complicity. And for me, music is not just entertainment, it’s a statement. That’s why ‘On My Mind’ is not just a love song. It’s a statement. I say, “I see what is happening, and I refuse to be part of the crowd that is tearing down instead of building up.”
I know I need heat for this. I’ve already done that. I’ve been told to “stay on my path” and stop mixing politics with music. But the thing is: art has always been political. Art is always about telling the truth, even when it is unpopular. From Bob Dylan to U2 to Kendrick Lamar, music has been a tool for expression. Why should loving Israel, the Jewish people and opposing anti-Semitism be any different?
High-rise buildings around beaches in Tel Aviv, Israel, on August 6, 2023. (Getty Images)
What scares me most about anti-Semitism today is how normalized it is becoming. We have seen Jewish artists blacklisted, Jewish students harassed and Jewish institutions destroyed – and all too often the cultural world shrugs its shoulders. That’s why I won’t do that. That’s why I chose to stand in Israel, to sing in Israel, to film in Israel.
Because I think about the Jewish people and Israel.
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I want my fans to understand that this is not about politics. It’s about humanity. It’s about supporting a people who, after the Holocaust, built a homeland of sand and stone, who turned a desert into innovation, who contribute more to art, science and medicine than countries ten times their size. It’s about seeing through the lies and realizing that Israel is not the bad guy, but a nation fighting for its survival in a hostile neighborhood.
To the artists who keep their distance, who fear backlash if they collaborate with Israelis, I say this: art should break barriers, not build them. It should heal, not divide. And if you let anti-Semitism dictate your art, you have already betrayed it.
People wave Israeli and American flags in Hostages Square during a rally in support of hostages and missing families following the peace deal between Israel and Hamas. (Dana Reany/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
“On My Mind” is my response to that betrayal. It’s my way of saying I won’t be intimidated. I will not be silent. I love Israel, I love the Jewish people and I believe in the power of music to tell the truth.
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And for anyone who continues to shout “genocide” without ever setting foot in Israel, I repeat my challenge: go see for yourself. Walk the streets. Meet the people. Experience the diversity, resilience, democracy.
Do that, and maybe – just maybe – Israel will be on your mind too.
