Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Security Guard Joins Israel's IDF: Reports
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The ongoing fight between Israel and Hamas began with Hamas' deadly attack on Israeli citizens on Oct. 7
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Taylor Swift performs in Arizona in March 2023Taylor Swift's Eras Tour security guard has gone back home to join Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the ongoing fight against Hamas.
According to Variety, 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 outlet Israel Hayom, which said he was born at a Kibbutz in Israel but had been working in America, Variety reported.
“I have a pretty great life back in the U.S.,” the star's former security guard — who went viral this summer in a video where he guards Swift — told the Israel Hayom, in a statement shared with Variety.
Related: Joe Biden Meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel: 'Americans Are Grieving with You'
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.”
He also condemned Hamas (also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement) and urged people to stand with Israel.
“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 to the 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 surprise attack on Israeli civilians on 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.
According to the AP and Reuters, 1,400 people, including 31 Americans, have been killed in the Hamas attacks in Israel, while roughly 2,800 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.
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