Matisyahu Releases ‘Ascent,’ Filmed at October 7 Massacre Sites

Matisyahu, the Jewish reggae musician who has been a target of anti-Israel protests on his recent tour, released a video for his song “Ascent” on Friday, featuring footage filmed at sites of the October 7 terror attack in Israel.

The song, whose lyrics are in both English and Hebrew, tackles the subject of antisemitism in the wake of the Hamas massacres and the resulting war.

Forward noted:

The lyrics include: “I sense my fam under attack / We used to gettin’ shot in the back,” and “No one to blame but the Jew / Are you insane, this is not new / They been sayin’ this for years / Cry babies with their fears.”

The song’s title refers to the Bible’s Psalms of Ascents, which state: “Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.”

Matisyahu told Billboard that he wrote “Ascent” in response to antisemitic rhetoric from Ye (Kanye West) and others.

The video was filmed at the site of the Supernova music festival, as well as at kibbutzim that were targeted by Hamas.

Matisyahu told Billboard magazine in an interview about the song that he was feeling “hopeless” about the future until he visited Israel in the wake of the terror attack. He performed for Israeli soldiers at the front, and visited with families of survivors and hostages.

When he returned, as Breitbart News repotred, Matisyahu was targeted by anti-Israel — and antisemitic — protests, with staff members at several venues refusing to work at his concerts, forcing the cancelation of sold-out shows.

Matisyahu is planning a return visit to Israel next week, where he will be performing in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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 recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the 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.