Israel: We Would ‘Welcome’ a Visit by Taylor Swift

Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said Thursday that the State of Israel would welcome a visit by singer Taylor Swift and any other celebrities who wished to educate themselves about what Hamas terrorists did to Israelis in the October 7 terror attack.

“We welcome visits by all leaders and influential figures” who want to see the extent of the atrocities, said Levy, when asked about whether Israel would welcome a visit by Swift.

Swift, who won Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” award for 2023, and who turned 34 on Wednesday, attended a fundraiser for a charity aiding Gaza this week, but has yet to say anything about the terror attack of October 7, whose victims included 260 people attending a music festival. A security guard who recently had provided protection to Swift during her summer tour reported for reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shortly after the Hamas attack.

Swift is outspoken on political issues, and is considered deeply influential with a generation of younger voters.

Surveys suggest that younger Americans, particularly Democrats, are the most anti-Israel of all age groups, possibly because they obtain much of their information through social media platforms like TikTok, which has been rife with extremist anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda.

Some celebrities have been outspoken in their support for Israel and its right to defend itself. Comedian Michael Rapaport traveled to Israel this week to take part in an Israeli comedy show that routinely mocks local politicians and has lately spoofed anti-Israel activists, acacemics, and journalists in the West.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.