Geddy Lee of Rush Brings Holocaust Remembrance Day Into Sharp Focus – RedState
Geddy Lee, bassist/vocalist/keyboardist for Canadian progressive rock trio and 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Rush, posted on Instagram today (January 27, 2026) to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The only surviving photo of my grandfather – Gershon Eliezer Rubinstein – for whom I am named – In the middle of a winter night in 1940, he was taken from his home in Wierzbnik, Poland, at gunpoint, thrown into prison, and then sent to die at the Treblinka concentration camp. His crime?
Being Jewish.
In November 2023, shortly after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, I wrote an article titled “Why Evangelicals Love Israel and Progressives Don’t.” Quoting this post (and making a grammatical correction from the original):
A keen interest in eschatology, the study and interpretation of Scripture regarding the second coming of Christ, has long been a cornerstone of the evangelical movement. Added to this, although not necessarily initially related, is a complete reassessment of Christianity’s complex and often horrific relationship with Judaism. For example, when one of the first things, if not the first, that comes to mind when considering the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism over the centuries is the Spanish Inquisition, one quickly understands why the 16th century Council of Trent’s statement that the belief in Jewish participation in deicide regarding the death of Jesus on the cross, under which Jews had previously suffered persecution, was completely ignored is completely ignored.
Back to 20th, now 21st century evangelism. Since its creation, the Evangelical Church has considered Jews as God’s chosen people who need the Gospel to be preached to them without intimidation or prejudice. The evangelical Church has universally praised Christians who directly opposed the Holocaust, whether martyrs like Dietrich Bonhoeffer or survivors like Corrie ten Boom.
In 1986, Rush released the album “Grace Under Pressure”. Among its songs was “Red Sector A,” in which the band’s late drummer and lyricist Neal Peart achieved the unthinkable in popular music: addressing the Holocaust in a rock song. It is also worth mentioning that in Lee’s recent biography, he discusses in great detail the experience of his mother and father, and their respective families, in concentration camps during World War II.
The announcement that Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson, with the blessing of Peart’s family, will tour in 2026 with Anika Nilles on drums brings to mind the idea of artists addressing issues of societal importance not as preening preachers shouting to a progressive chorus of media courtiers, but from a universal vantage point of historical accuracy. Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, we have seen the dismal rise of anti-Semitism, poorly disguised as political opposition, rear its ugly sectarian head again and again on college campuses and among social media noisemakers wishing to be seen as thought leaders. Even more hideous is the specter of Jew-haters who attempt to justify their perverse beliefs behind hackneyed slogans such as “Christ is King”, when, if they truly followed the teaching of Jesus and the Word of God, they would immediately and completely abandon all elements of anti-Semitic beliefs and practices.
Geddy Lee’s Instagram post is a welcome reminder that there are at least a few real artists left in the popular music wilderness, artists who care about history and are determined not to let the public forget that the true power of art comes from those who use it as a vehicle to communicate the truth. Rush isn’t everyone’s musical cup of tea. That said, the truth knows no stylistic or commercial limits.
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