Does Dave Grohl Support Israel?

Does Dave Grohl Support Israel?

Maya Mizrachi Updated Aug 07, 2026 3 min read

Short answer: As of August 2026, Dave Grohl has not made any public statement supporting or opposing Israel. He did not sign any of the pro-Palestinian boycott or ceasefire letters that hundreds of his fellow musicians signed, and he has no documented direct engagement with Israel as a country or cause. His one real connection to Jewish culture is a purely musical, non-political Hanukkah project with his friend and producer Greg Kurstin.

What Dave Grohl has actually said and done

  • December 2020: Grohl and Jewish record producer Greg Kurstin launched "The Hanukkah Sessions," covering one song per night of Hanukkah, all originally recorded by Jewish-identified artists like the Beastie Boys, Drake, Mountain (Leslie West) and Peaches. As Times of Israel reported, Grohl himself isn't Jewish but clearly enjoys the annual collaboration. The project ran again in 2021 and 2022. It is a music and holiday tribute, with no political content and no reference to Israel.
  • May 2021: Over 600 musicians, including Rage Against the Machine, Roger Waters, Serj Tankian, Run the Jewels and Patti Smith, signed an open letter urging fellow artists to boycott Israel during that month's Israel-Gaza fighting, according to Rolling Stone and Billboard. Dave Grohl's name does not appear among the signatories.
  • December 2022: Grohl and Kurstin produced and hosted a small in-person Chanukah concert for about 250 fans, tied to that year's Hanukkah Sessions release, per United with Israel. Again, the event was a music and holiday gathering, with no Israel-related messaging.
  • 2023 onward: A search of major outlets, including AP, Reuters, Rolling Stone, Times of Israel, JTA and Billboard, turns up no statement from Grohl on the October 7, 2023 attack or the war that followed. He also did not sign the roughly 4,000-name November 2023 artist letter calling for a Gaza ceasefire, whose signatories include Mogwai and Pulp but not Grohl, as noted by Louder.
  • 2018 and 2019: Foo Fighters as a band have never played an official concert in Israel. The only Foo Fighters-related shows found in Tel Aviv are fan-organized tribute bands, including a June 2018 tribute show and a November 2019 "Nirvana vs. Foo Fighters" tribute night, per Secret Tel Aviv. These are not appearances by Grohl or the real band.
  • August 2026 (current status): Foo Fighters kicked off a North American stadium tour on August 4, 2026, and Grohl remains active, according to AOL/Consequence. No health issue, retirement, or other change affects this picture.

Why Dave Grohl doesn't have an Israel stance on record

Dave Grohl, born in 1969 in Warren, Ohio, is the former Nirvana drummer and the founder and frontman of Foo Fighters. His family background is German, Irish and Slovak, and he is not Jewish. Since 2020 he has run "The Hanukkah Sessions" as an annual side project with producer Greg Kurstin, a warm and well-covered piece of cross-cultural music making that Jewish outlets like Times of Israel, JNS and Israel Hayom, along with pro-Israel outlets like United with Israel, have written about approvingly. None of that coverage extends into commentary on Israel as a state, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the war that followed October 7, 2023.

That silence stands out a bit more given how vocal parts of the music industry have been. When hundreds of artists, from Roger Waters and Rage Against the Machine in 2021 to the roughly 4,000-name letter in November 2023 that included Mogwai and Pulp, called for a boycott of Israel or a Gaza ceasefire, Grohl's name was not on either list. He also never signed any comparable pro-Israel statement. Foo Fighters have never performed an official show in Israel; only unofficial tribute acts have played Foo Fighters sets in Tel Aviv. The overall picture is a musician who has chosen to stay entirely out of the Israel debate, while keeping a genuine, non-political friendship with a Jewish colleague.

The bottom line

There is no evidence that Dave Grohl supports or opposes Israel. He has not commented on the conflict, he sat out the large musician boycott and ceasefire letters that many of his peers signed, and his only Jewish-adjacent public activity is an apolitical annual Hanukkah covers project with Greg Kurstin. If you're looking for a public Israel stance from Grohl, the record simply doesn't have one either way.

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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.

Maya Mizrachi

Shop Israel brings you meaningful Jewish jewelry, gifts, and Dead Sea care, made in and for Israel.