Musician defies Hollywood boycott, records new song and video in Israel

I’ve been an artist all my life. Music has always been a way to connect with people, to find common ground even when words fail. But lately it feels like art itself is under siege. Antisemitism in America has become an untamed beast, and in Hollywood and the music industry it is taking on an ugly form: a boycott culture aimed directly at Israel and the Jewish people. Instead of encouraging creativity and dialogue, many artists are cutting ties, canceling collaborations, and demonizing entire nations. It sucks the oxygen out of art.

That’s exactly why I decided to do the opposite. I put my money where my mouth was in the middle of the war and poured my energy into a project that meant more to me than anything I’d 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 also shot the music video there, using the land as a stage, and collaborated with two extraordinary Israeli artists: rapper Shahar Saul and singer Maya Dadon.
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The background was not a studio set or green screen. It was Israel; raw, real, beautiful and vibrant.

For me, it wasn’t just about making music. It was about standing up. When so many voices from the entertainment world are quickly turning to Israel, when it has become fashionable to call for boycotts or spread half-truths and outright lies, I have chosen to align myself with the only democracy in the Middle East, a place I love and a people I admire.

Now, before you rush to shout “holocaust” or launch into yet another anti-Semitic rant, I have a simple challenge for you: Go visit. See with your own eyes. Because the truth is; There is nothing homogeneous in Israel.

A country of surprising diversity. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Armenians, Ethiopians and Bedouins; they all live, work and argue side by side. This is not a single culture. There are dozens. This is not a single ideology. There are endless disputes, debates, protests and speeches; generally louder and more chaotic than anything I’ve seen in America. And that’s the beauty of it. Israel is messy because it lives. Very lively. Free.

American actor, singer and former Big Time Rush member James Maslow has become a vocal defender of Israel in the face of the entertainment industry’s largely critical attitude towards 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 walk without fear, where LGBTQ rights are protected, where citizens can vote, criticize their leaders, and fight to make their country better. The only place where the rule of law matters more than who holds the gun.

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As an artist, I cannot stand by and watch the cultural world abandon Israel and the Jewish people. Silence is complicity. And for me, music is not just entertainment, it’s an expression. That’s why “On My Mind” is not just a love song. This is a declaration. I say this: “I see what is happening and I refuse to be part of the mob that destroys instead of growing.”

I know I’ll be angry about this. It already exists. I was told to “stay in my lane” and to stop mixing politics with music. But the thing is, art has always been political. Art has always been about telling the truth, even if it’s not popular. From Bob Dylan to U2 to Kendrick Lamar, music has been a means to amplify our voices. Why should loving Israel, the Jewish people, and opposing anti-Semitism be any different?

Tall buildings surround beaches in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, August 6, 2023 (Getty Images)

What scares me most about antisemitism today is how normalized it has become. We have seen Jewish artists being blacklisted. Jewish students were harassed and Jewish institutions have been destroyed, and for the most part the cultural world shrugs its shoulders. That’s why I won’t. That’s why I chose to stay in Israel, sing in Israel, shoot movies in Israel.
Because Jews and Israel are on my mind.

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I want my fans to understand that this is not about politics. This is about humanity. It means standing by a people who built a homeland out of sand and stone after the Holocaust, transformed the desert into innovation, and contributed more to art, science and medicine than countries ten times its size. It’s about seeing through the lies and understanding that Israel is not the bad guy, but a nation fighting to survive in a hostile neighborhood.

To the artists who keep their distance, who are afraid of repercussions if they collaborate with the Israelis, I say this: Art is supposed to break down barriers, not build them. It needs to heal, not divide. And if you allow antisemitism to dominate 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 Israel-Hamas peace agreement. (Dana Reany/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

“On my mind” is my response to this betrayal. This is my way of saying I won’t be afraid. 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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I will repeat my challenge to everyone who still shouts “genocide” before setting foot in Israel: Go and see for yourself. Walk the streets. Meet people. Experience diversity, resilience and democracy.

Do this and maybe – just maybe – Israel will be on your mind too.