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Matisyahu to Release New Song ‘Basi L’gani,’ Discusses Return to Writing Music and Israel Feeling ‘Like Home’
Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu. Photo: Provided
Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu opened up exclusively to The Algemeiner about releasing a new song on Thursday inspired by a Hasidic discourse, getting back to songwriting, how he tackles antisemitism, and his continued love and support for Israel.
Matisyahu’s new song and its release date both hold a special connection to the Orthodox Chabad movement. Thursday’s date on the Hebrew calendar, 10 Shevat, is the day that Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn died (January 28, 1950). Before his passing, he wrote a famous Hasidic discourse titled “Basi L’Gani” (also spelled “Bati Legani” or “Basi Legani”), which translates in English to “Enter my Garden.” The Hebrew date 10 Shevat is also the day that The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, assumed leadership of Chabad — as well as when Matisyahu’s youngest son will turn three years old.
Matisyahu’s new song pays homage to that Hasidic discourse and is aptly titled “Basi L’gani.” The singer-songwriter, 45, wrote the track almost two years ago, prior to the Israel-Hamas war, but was waiting for the appropriate time to release it following the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, he told The Algemeiner. “Basi L’gani” is the first of a group of songs that Matisyahu recorded before the war and is hoping to now release.
Many of the lyrics in Matisyahu’s new song are taken from the original Hasidic discourse. The track opens with him singing: “Come enter my garden/ my sister/ my bride. It’s been a long coming/ and you been out all night. Rise in the morning/shine your light.”
“Like knowledge from the tree/ won’t you build for me/ a sanctuary/ a place for us to be,” he later sings. “And if I go/ and if I stay/when you look back/and you move into the day/ listen to these words/let me guide you on your way. I just want to be the oars in your boat along the way.”
The cover art for Matisyahu’s new song “Basi L’gani.” Photo: Sosha Bentolila.
Born Matthew Paul Miller, Matisyahu grew up in White Plains in Westchester County, outside of New York City, and went to yeshiva in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He used to go from his yeshiva to perform at clubs and then return back to the school. He currently lives in New York with his family.
Since the start of his career, the father of six has been singing about wanting Moshiach now (“King Without a Crown”), for there to be no more wars (“One Day”) and his connection to Israel (“Jerusalem”). His more recent songs address antisemitism (“Ascent”) and he repeats the phrase “Am Israel Chai” (“The nation of Israel lives”) in his most recent song “The Fathers Live” with Remedy.
Matisyahu admitted that he has not done much songwriting since the start of the Gaza war but is hoping to get back to it again soon.
“I’m interested to start writing again,” he told The Algemeiner. “Obviously there is a lot to say, a lot of intensity, a lot of inspiration, and a lot going on. The next batch of songs is gonna probably be a bit more on the intense side, kind of like ‘Ascent’ and ‘Father’s Live’ … I wanna be releasing music constantly now. The idea of writing 20 songs and holding them for a year, and then releasing a whole album, is a little bit of an old school way of doing things. So from this point on, starting with ‘Basligani,’ I’m going to be releasing a song every three weeks or so. I’ll do that for about 15 songs and then I’ll start my writing process again.”
When asked what will inspire his new music, he said life experiences and “in particular what’s happened with the Jewish people and Israel, the hostages being released, and all those images we see of those girls being paraded through Gaza. All that stuff builds up like a well inside of me, and when I’m writing my rhymes, a lot of that stuff is going to come out now.”
At The Algemeiner‘s 11th annual “J100” gala last month, where Matisyahu was honored with the “Warrior For Truth” award, he spoke about reconnecting with his Jewish identity and faith after the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Matisyahu has a son who lives in Israel and said his second son might be moving there as well. The singer has visited the Jewish state twice since the Hamas atrocities. During one visit, he filmed the music video for “Ascent” at communities in southern Israel infiltrated by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack and at the site of the Nova music festival massacre, where 364 people were killed. The music video also features footage from the attack, including clips of the abductions of Shiri Bibas with her children, and some scenes show Matisyahu with relatives of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the war, Matisyahu has performed shows in Israel for soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces and at a benefit concert to support the families of the hostages. He met personally with families of hostages and survivors of the attack at the Nova music festival, and visited communities ravaged by Hamas-led terrorists on Oct. 7. He told The Algemeiner that visiting Israel during the war was “an extremely powerful experience” that impacted what his focus has been over the last year.
“I’m feeling a sort of responsibility to speak out about, sing about it, and remind people what’s going on. After speaking with those people and hearing their stories firsthand and experiencing the emotion with those people, that changes you and it really affected me,” he said.
“Israel has always been a special place to me, but obviously now more than ever,” the musician added. “I feel this very deep connection to Israel and Israelis. In times past, maybe there has been more of a separation or a cultural disconnect … but I’ve always loved going. I’ve always loved the people. It’s always felt like home. It’s that special feeling that a Jew has when they go to Israel of just feeling surrounded by family and we don’t feel that anywhere else in the world. Especially now, how much more powerful is that — to have a place, to have a family, a country, and really this strong interconnectedness and support for each other. For a long time for me it’s felt like real Judaism is happening in Israel.”
Photo: Provided
The “Fireproof” singer has been vocal in the past about how his solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people has negatively impacted his career in the last 16 months. He has talked about being dropped by his manager and having a number of his scheduled concerts canceled because of his support for the Jewish state. Mere days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, he criticized celebrities for being “too afraid” to voice support for Israel because of how it might affect their social image or career. Even before the war, he has faced backlash from supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS)movement against Israel.
Still, he said he never thought to stay silent about his solidarity with Israel, even if it would be safer for his career.
“In my career, which has been like over 20, I’ve very rarely taken the safe route,” he said. “For example, shaving my beard, a lot of people thought, ‘Well that’s how everyone knows you and it’s your image.’ But it was irrelevant to me because I’ve always believed in myself, my art, and my music, and I have to do what’s important and authentic to me. And being Jewish and my love of Israel has really been at the core of who I am for quite some time. It’s a big part of who Matisyahu is.”
“When I decided to not be as religious and to shave my beard, to me that wasn’t becoming less Jewish,” he explained. “Just like I stepped into the religion — I wasn’t raised that way — I’ve always just tried to be fluid with what I feel and what feels real to me. The second Oct. 7 happened, I knew immediately that I was going to be outspoken and lean into my Jewish-ness; lean into that zealot Matisyahu, punk rock, Hasidic spirit, because it’s a big part of who I am.”
Matisyahu was raised in a household that followed Reconstructionist Judaism. He later decided to start living a Hasidic lifestyle, and at the start of his musical career, he had a long beard, sidelocks, and wore a yarmulke on stage. In 2011, however, he posted a photo on social media showing himself clean shaven and without a yarmulke, along with the caption: “No more Hassidic reggae superstar.”
In 2014, Matisyahu spoke to The Algemeiner about his religious transformation and decision to step away from the Hasidic movement, saying it was simply a “natural progression” taking place in his life. He also said it was hurtful to see how some people stopped being a fan of his music simply because he no longer looked like a Hasidic Orthodox Jew. He said at the time: “It was really hard for me because it turns out these people were not really fans of my music.”
When asked if his current advocacy of Israel has impacted his fanbase, Matisyahu said, “I think I still have those core fans who may or may not be Jewish … But I definitely feel a much stronger support from the Jewish community and from Jews feeling how important it is to be outspoken, defending Jews. A lot of people really deeply respect that, and a lot of those people have either come back to a show or maybe have listened to some of the newer music when they may not have listened to me for years and years. And I welcome it.”
The singer continued, “It’s nice to feel that connection again with Jews, and unfortunately, it’s weird how it takes sometimes something really bad to happen to bring us together. But I feel the support and it feels nice.”
Matisyahu said that leaning into Judaism “in a big way” has helped him cope with antisemitism, and that it’s been “soothing for the soul.” In the last year, he stopped playing concerts on Friday night in honor of Shabbat and started putting on tefillin “from time to time.” He also tries to respect Shabbat by lighting candles on Friday night or spending time with family and turning off his cellphone. Another thing that has been helpful in combating antisemitism is “being around other Jews,” he noted.
“And the art — having the outlet of the music, the writing, and performing,” Matisyahu added. “Having an outlet to express myself — my feelings, my pain, hope, and joy. All of it. Not everyone is a singer, but everyone has something that they can be creative and pour their emotions into.”
“We have to acknowledge that we’re broken, we’re hurt, that this has been a painful experience and it’s not over,” he explained. “At the same time, [there’s] the joy of the hostages coming back and the way that the nation of Israel and the Jewish people have come together.”
The post Matisyahu to Release New Song ‘Basi L’gani,’ Discusses Return to Writing Music and Israel Feeling ‘Like Home’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Anti-Israel Bias in UK Hospitals Alarms Jewish Patients, Fueling Fears of Global Trend
University College London Hospital. Photo: Tagishsimon via Wikimedia Commons
Two recent incidents at hospitals in the UK fit a troubling pattern of Jews feeling unsafe due to medical professionals expressing antisemitism or even outright threats of death against Israelis.
The University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH Trust) has issued an apology following a patient’s complaints about the placement of anti-Israel posters at a facility.
“I’m an outpatient but God forbid in other circumstances to feel so vulnerable already and be surrounded by hostility would be so scary,” the unnamed female patient told the group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), fearful of receiving subpar treatment if the hospital staff discovered she was Jewish. “I shouldn’t have to remove my Star of David necklace to go to a hospital visit.”
The poster read:
Israel is starving and killing Palestinians in Gaza.
Children are being slaughtered beyond measure.
We have a voice, they don’t.
We are the generation that can influence the system & government.
Please do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Do not let the mainstream media influence you. It is poison. Zionism is Poison.
People are being killed, just to show the world what is happening, see for yourself:
@eye.on.palestine
@lowkeyonline @Wearethepeace
@hossam_shbat @anasjamal44
If you can’t lift the injustice, at least tell everyone about it.
Free Palestine.
End Zionism.
David Probert, chief executive of UCLH Trust, released a statement on Sunday to UKLFI.
“Firstly, I would like to apologize on behalf of UCLH for the distress and upset caused by these posters. At UCLH, we value diversity and inclusivity, and we are committed to providing a fair and non-discriminatory service to all individuals, regardless of background,” Probert stated. “Following receipt of your letter, I promptly made internal enquiries and was informed that the posters were initially noticed last week. This matter was immediately treated as an incident, and all the posters were removed without delay.”
Probert added, “Senior members of staff conducted a walk-around to ensure no further posters remained. Additionally, the department’s newsletter addressed the incident, reminding staff of the Trust’s policy against displaying political messages and encouraging vigilance in identifying and removing any similar materials. Security personnel have also been instructed to remain alert.”
Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said that her organization welcomed the hospital’s taking down of the posters.
“We welcome UCLH’s prompt, proactive, and constructive engagement with this issue. UCLH’s actions will help preserve dignity, equality, neutrality, and respect within NHS spaces, particularly for Jewish patients seeking medical care,” she said in a statement.
Another instance of anti-Israel rhetoric at UK hospitals involves midwife Fatimah Mohamied, who resigned from her position after UKLFI highlighted her anti-Israel social media posts. Mohamied has now filed a claim against Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, alleging a violation of her rights.
“I have been subjected to a concerted and targeted effort to intimidate, harass, and punish me into silence for my Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Zionism,” Mohamied said. “I am taking legal action against my former employer to finally seek accountability for a campaign of harassment against me in the midst of a live genocide perpetrated by the Israeli state — I will not accept the attempts to silence me and those like me.”
Mohamied added, “Health=care workers in the NHS have the right to critique a colonial political ideology that has upheld an illegal occupation for decades and is responsible for violating universal values of health.”
Examples of Mohamied’s posts include her declaration “hell yeah!!!” on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, as she reshared the statement “Palestinians have a right to resist their occupation-we have a right to support them. It’s that simple.”
She also wrote on Oct. 7, 2023, that “Palestinian women have birthed under blockade and seige [sic] This is apartheid and like all apartheid, no justice or dignity can be found.” The post was in response to another social media user defending Hamas’s atrocities as a justified response to Israeli actions.
In another online comment, Mohamied wrote, “The problem lies in using Jewish cultural safety as a smokescreen to propagate colonialism, occupation, apartheid, and genocide as somehow acceptable. The problem here are the Zionist speakers you hold no qualm or shame to platform. There is no neutrality in degradation, there is no balance in ignoring opposition to Zionists, there is no innocence in hosting Zionists.”
Liana Wood, a partner at the legal firm Leigh Day representing Mohamied, said that the trust’s “referrals against Fatimah, made a year after she had stopped working for them, were an entirely disproportionate response to her lawful expressions of belief on her personal blog and social media accounts.” She added that “Fatimah’s case, which has parallels with other cases we have seen recently in the NHS, highlights the need for employers to resist pressure from lobby groups in such cases, and to carefully consider any potential infringement on an individual’s rights before taking action against them.”
These instances in the UK track with other reports from Jews around the world expressing discomfort with health-care providers’ antipathy toward Israel manifesting as violent threats.
In the Netherlands, for example, police opened an investigation into Batisma Chayat Sa’id, a nurse who allegedly stated she would administer lethal injections to Israeli patients.
Sa’id denied making the comments. “It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” she said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Last year, however, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
The nurse’s alleged threat mirrors a similar incident in Australia, in which video showed two nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements.
The widely circulated footage showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
“Now they actually brag online about killing Israeli patients,” Shira Nussdorf, a US-born Jewish woman who moved from Israel to Australia six years ago, told The Algemeiner earlier this year when the video first emerged. “I don’t know how safe I would feel giving birth at that hospital.”
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide. They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
A December 2024 study by the Data & Analytics Department of StandWithUs, a Jewish civil rights group, found that 40 percent of 645 Jewish American health-care professionals surveyed reported experiencing antisemitism in the workplace. A similar study of Canadian Jewish health workers conducted last year reached 80 percent.
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First Charter Aliyah Flight Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack Brings 225 Newcomers to Israel
New olim disembark at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on the first charter aliyah flight since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, arriving to begin new lives in Israel. Photo: The Algemeiner
NEW YORK/TEL AVIV — Defying the uncertainty of war, 225 Jews arrived in Tel Aviv on the first charter aliyah flight since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, determined to start new lives and contribute to the country they now call home.
On Wednesday morning, Nefesh B’Nefesh — a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the United States and Canada — brought its 65th charter flight from New York to Tel Aviv.
Aliyah refers to the process of Jews immigrating to Israel.
With the most children yet on a single flight, this historic aliyah brought 45 families to their new homeland — 125 children among them, ranging from the youngest at 9 months to the oldest at 72.
Migrating from across the US and Canada, these newcomers and families are settling throughout Israel to build communities and begin new lives of service to the Jewish state. Among them are professionals in fields such as medicine, journalism, education, law, accounting, engineering, and many others.
During a farewell ceremony in New York, Nefesh B’Nefesh chairman and co-founder Tony Gelbart commended those on the flight, holding them up as examples of Jewish resilience and unity in the face of adversity
“You’re fulfilling your dream, but I believe you’re doing something even more important at this time,” Gelbart said in his speech.
“Not only are you helping Israel; you’re showing the world that Jews everywhere stand together and care for one another,” he continued.
Israeli Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer, who traveled to the US to see off the new olim (immigrants who moved to Israel) on their historic flight, also praised them for embarking on this new chapter in Israel.
“I want to thank each and every person who made the decision to make aliyah during the war. It strengthens our resilience and our solidarity, and I am truly proud of them,” Sofer told The Algemeiner.
“Since Oct. 7, we’ve seen that most people want to support Israel … but the highest form of solidarity is choosing to make aliyah,” the Israeli official said. “These individuals want to be part of what’s happening in Israel, make a meaningful difference, and stand with their people.”
Founded in 2002, Nefesh B’Nefesh is dedicated to “strengthening the State of Israel by facilitating aliyah, advancing national service and development, and promoting Zionist education.”
Nefesh B’Nefesh, working alongside Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth, and the Jewish National Fund-USA, helps olim become fully integrated members of Israeli society.
To this day, they have assisted nearly 100,000 olim in establishing thriving lives in Israel, guiding them through the aliyah process.
Those who decide to make aliyah receive comprehensive support to help them transition smoothly into their new life, including guidance through the immigration process, access to community programs, health-care assistance, and employment resources.
The Israeli government also provides a range of support and resources to ease the transition and adaptation for those taking this significant step, including housing subsidies and higher education incentives for young olim and professionals pursuing studies in Israel.
“I believe we’ll see an increase in the number of people making aliyah in the coming years. It won’t happen overnight, but it will be a gradual process,” Sofer told The Algemeiner. “The trend is clear, and there is growing interest among many in taking this step.”
“We’re seeing numbers rise year by year, especially from Western countries like the UK, France, and North America, and I expect that trend to continue,” the Israeli minister said.
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‘Pat Buchanan in a New Guise’: Trump Aide Sebastian Gorka Slams Tucker Carlson Over Anti-Israel Stance
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the US president and senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, Aug. 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
A senior aide to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday repudiated controversial political commentator Tucker Carlson for promoting what he described as an isolationist foreign policy that’s hostile to Israel, suggesting that Carlson is “repackaging” the ideology of infamous paleoconservative intellectual Pat Buchanan.
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, made the comments while appearing for an event at the Hudson Institute, a prominent think tank in Washington, DC.
Moderator Michael Doran, a Hudson senior fellow and Middle East expert, asked Gorka to address the growth of anti-Israel, antisemitic sentiment on right-wing podcasts and social media.
“This wing of isolationism is nothing new. We had this 100 years ago, and this is just a poor, substandard repackaging of neo-Buchananite isolationism,” Gorka said in response.
“The Tucker right wing is basically, you know, Pat Buchanan in a new guise. It is actually a shallower version. Pat is far smarter than this version of isolationism,” Gorka continued.
Carlson, a right-wing podcaster and former Fox News host, has repeatedly argued on his podcast that the US should withdraw from costly foreign entanglements and focus on domestic issues. That perspective has led him to sharply criticize US support for Israel, which he has framed as an unnecessary drain on American resources and a distraction from pressing challenges at home.
Carlson has often warned that Washington’s commitments to its allies, particularly in the Middle East, risk dragging the United States into wars that he believes serve little purpose for the average American family. His rhetoric has placed him at odds with more traditional conservatives who view support for Israel as central to US foreign policy.
In June, Carlson clashed with US Sen. Ted Cruzhttps://www.algemeiner.com/2025/06/18/ted-cruz-defends-aipac-foreign-influence-claims-accuses-tucker-carlson-antisemitism/ (R-Texas) over the latter’s support for Israel and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a lobbying group that promotes bipartisan support for a strong US-Israel relationship. During the tense interview, Cruz called out Carlson over his “obsession” with the world’s lone Jewish state.
“You’re asking, ‘Why are the Jews controlling our foreign policy?’” Cruz stated. “If you’re not an antisemite, give me another reason why the obsession is Israel.”
Carlson recently came under fire for interviewing Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian but not pushing back against his claims or challenging the leader on Iran’s nuclear program or human rights record.
Meanwhile, Buchanan regularly courted controversy with provocative statements depicting the so-called “Israel lobby” as a sinister force swaying US policy — even claiming Capitol Hill is “Israeli occupied territory.” He has also cast doubt on established Holocaust history, minimizing atrocities at Treblinka, and framed Jewish influence in ways many critics condemned as antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) branded him an “unrepentant bigot” and claimed that he “repeatedly demonizes Jews and minorities and openly affiliates with white supremacists.”
Gorka dismissed the vocal chorus of isolationist, anti-Israel conservatives as “probably half a dozen very loud people on Twitter [now officially called X] and Rumble.” He emphasized that isolationist ideologues such as Carlson are not representative of the broader conservative political base.
“I mean, you get out of the miasma, the cesspit that is social media and you talk to representative MAGA [Make America Great Again] of the 80 million that put the president back in the White House,” Gorka said. “They don’t think that we should pull down the shutters on the Pacific and the Atlantic coast. They don’t think that Israel is the reason for [Hamas’s attack on Israel on] October the 7th. They actually have a very special place in their heart for Israel, and they don’t think that hospitals being bombed in Ukraine is a good thing.”
Gorka added that the Americans people will not be easily swayed by the isolationist wing of the conservative movement.
“One of the most trenchant, indicative characteristics for me of the American people is common sense. They understand who was responsible for October the 7th. They understand who Vladimir Putin is,” Gorka said.
Doran argued during the event that the anti-Israel wing of conservatism maintains “no hold” on Trump.
“It’s clear that that President Trump is not listening to them, making decisions in a completely different way,” Doran said. “I mean, he basically signaled it with that Truth Social posting where he said, ‘Who’s going to tell kooky Tucker Carlson that Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon?”