Taylor Swift performs in Arizona in March 2023.Photo:John Shearer/Getty
John Shearer/Getty
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour security guard has gone back home to join Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the ongoing fightagainst Hamas.
According toVariety, the security guard — who prefers to remain anonymous — chose to leave the United States and fight as he saw tragedy unfold in his home country.
The news first broke on the Israeli outletIsrael Hayom, which said he was born at a Kibbutz in Israel but had been working in America,Varietyreported.
“I have a pretty great life back in the U.S.,” the star’s former security guard — whowent viral this summerin a video where he guards Swift — told the Israel Hayom, in a statement shared withVariety.
He added, “I got an amazing dream job that I love, great friends that I call family and a very comfortable home. I didn’t HAVE to come here… But I could not stand on the sidelines while families are being slaughtered and burned alive in their homes!!! Just for being Jewish or for being Israelis.”
“While one side is protecting babies, kids and the elderly, the other side is using those as human shields!!! It’ll be an insult to animals worldwide to call them ‘animals’ but those are not human beings,” he said of Hamas, which the United States deemed a terrorist group in 1997, according tothe AP.
“They killed and slaughtered families in their beds alongside family’s pets!!!! And then they burned the houses down!!!! Try to imagine that happening in your own neighborhood, to your next door neighbors or to a family you know.”
He concluded, “I’m not only standing here with Israel and actually standing here. I’m standing here with humanity. Don’t be on the wrong side of history!! Don’t stand on the sidelines and say nothing…”
The fight between Israel and Hamas began with Hamas' deadly surpriseattack on Israeli civilianson Oct. 7. Since then, Israel vowed to defend itself, calling for the immediate evacuation of 1.1 million civilians in Gaza City ahead of planned strikes.
source: people.com
