Short answer: Yes, in a low key, cultural sense. Daddy Yankee (Ramón Ayala) has performed in Israel three times, in 2015, 2017, and 2019, visited the Western Wall and floated in the Dead Sea, and told a crowd near Tel Aviv "every time I come here I feel like home." He has never made a political statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is not Jewish, and there is no record of him joining any Israel boycott campaign or being asked to and refusing. As of August 2026, that remains the full record.
What Daddy Yankee has actually said and done
- August 2015: Daddy Yankee performed in Tel Aviv for the first time, part of his King Daddy Euro Tour, according to Billboard.
- 2017: He returned to Israel for a second concert during his 2017 tour. The exact date isn't specified in available coverage, but the visit is referenced by the Times of Israel.
- June 25, 2019: Daddy Yankee arrived in Israel and visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem that same evening, ahead of a concert in Rishon LeZion, per The Algemeiner.
- June 26, 2019: He shared a photo of himself floating in the Dead Sea, posting in Spanish about being at "the lowest point on earth," also reported by The Algemeiner.
- June 26, 2019: He played a sold-out show at Live Park in Rishon LeZion, his third Israel concert since 2015, telling the crowd "every time I come here I feel like home" and thanking fans in Spanish, English, and Hebrew. Covered by both the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post.
- Undated: A standing anti-boycott petition page from Creative Community for Peace, which encourages artists to keep performing in Israel despite BDS pressure, named Daddy Yankee among artists who "have visited recently," alongside Justin Timberlake, Elton John, and Lady Gaga. That's the organization's own framing and listing, not a quote or statement from Daddy Yankee, per Creative Community for Peace.
- December 2023: At his farewell concert in Puerto Rico, Daddy Yankee retired from music and declared his life devoted to Jesus Christ, closing his career as a practicing evangelical Christian rather than converting to Judaism or expressing any Jewish identity, according to the Washington Times.
The context behind the visits
Daddy Yankee, born Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez in Puerto Rico, is widely credited as a pioneer of reggaeton, with global hits including "Gasolina" and the remix of "Despacito." He played Israel three separate times over four years (2015, 2017, 2019), and each stop drew warm coverage in Israeli outlets. During the 2019 visit he leaned into the connection explicitly, learning Hebrew phrases and telling the Rishon LeZion crowd he felt at home. He also made time for tourist and spiritual sites, visiting the Western Wall and floating in the Dead Sea.
He has not made any political statement about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, or the war that followed, in any source we could locate. He has not signed, endorsed, or been named as part of any pro-Israel advocacy campaign in his own words. The 2024 Creative Community for Peace petition referenced his past visits as an example of artists who have performed in Israel, but that's the organization's framing, not an action or statement from him. He also doesn't appear on artist lists tied to the "No Music for Genocide" boycott effort or any other BDS-aligned campaign against Israel.
On Jewish identity, there isn't one. Daddy Yankee is a practicing Roman Catholic turned evangelical Christian. In December 2023 he retired from music at his final concert in Puerto Rico and publicly devoted his life to Jesus Christ, quoting the New Testament and saying "Jesus lives in me." He returned to music in 2025, appearing at Billboard Latin Music Week, but has continued to frame his post-retirement work around his Christian faith, not Judaism.
The bottom line
Daddy Yankee supports Israel in the cultural sense, not the political one. He chose to perform there three times, spoke warmly about feeling at home, and never joined any boycott. But he has issued no statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or October 7, holds no Jewish identity, and his public identity since 2023 has centered on evangelical Christianity, not Israel advocacy. As of August 2026, no further public statement from him on Israel has surfaced.
Wear the same connection Daddy Yankee felt
Daddy Yankee said Israel felt like home the moment he landed there. You don't need a stage in Rishon LeZion to feel that way. Our Star of David necklaces, including the Shalom Star of David necklace, are a simple, everyday way to carry that same connection to Israel and Jewish heritage with you.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
