MIAMI STEVE’S NEW GIG: Holocaust education.
Steven Van Zandt is worried about the Jews. “There is that pre-Holocaust vibe,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently about what he sees on social media, where he is a prolific user.
“They spread lies around year after year after year, and if you say something often enough, people start to believe it.
“And that’s what happened that led to the Holocaust in the first place, and that’s what’s going on now.”
Exploring Jewish culture, resilience through music
For a man equally beloved for his longtime work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and his role as Silvio on HBO’s “The Sopranos,” such a detour might seem unusual.
But Van Zandt is looking to make his own mark in the world of Holocaust education, via his education initiative TeachRock, which since 2013 has provided K-12 lesson plans on a range of subjects built around popular music.
Titled “Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust: Exploring an Enduring Culture Through Music,” the initiative’s four-day lesson plan, launched this week, includes the onset of antisemitism in prewar Europe, survivor testimony, and Jewish values.
Anchoring the lessons are rock songs from the likes of KISS, the half-Jewish glam metal band, beloved Jewish folk singer Leonard Cohen, and contemporary New York pop band Lawrence, which is fronted by two Jewish siblings.
It’s a departure from the somber tone of most Holocaust education programs, a space that the Jewish community has heavily invested in despite mounting questions about the effectiveness of such lessons in curbing antisemitism.
TeachRock may be aimed at the K-12 plan, but perhaps The Boss, aka Miami Steve’s boss, should audit a few classes. Or as Christian Toto writes: The Boss Should Listen to Little Steven – Stat.
Days before the midterm elections, Springsteen endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, the radical Democrat running for the Michigan Senate.
“Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House … That’s why I’m in his corner 100%.”
That endorsement did more than shatter a longtime Springsteen fan group. It let the rocker praise a man with concerning ties to antisemitism. The American Jewish Congress:
He is sharply critical of the Israeli government and has described Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide. In 2026 reporting, El-Sayed said he would withdraw both offensive and defensive U.S. military aid to Israel, characterized the Israeli government as being as evil as Hamas, described Israeli policy as apartheid, and rebuffed the premise that Israel has a right to exist specifically as a Jewish state, arguing that such a definition is incompatible with equal rights.
El-Sayed’s family also has troubling ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a terror group with deeply antisemitic views. El-Sayed also campaigned with Hasan Piker, a pundit serially accused of being antisemitic.
I assume he’ll be updating the laser light show and carrying plenty of inflatable props on his next tour; Bruce Springsteen morphed into Roger Waters so slowly, I hardly even noticed.