The Boss Should Listen to Little Steven – Stat

Little Steven isn’t The Boss.

That’s his longtime collaborator, music legend Bruce Springsteen.

Still, the E Street Band mate could teach his colleague a thing or two about culture in 2026. Specifically, that artists should be speaking out against the stunning spike in antisemitism across the globe.

So far, Springsteen has been mostly silent on the subject. And he’s far from alone.

Steven Van Zandt, also known as Miami Steven and Little Steven, is doing more than just speaking out. He’s educating the youth about where antisemitism can lead.

He just helped launch TeachRock’s “Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust: Exploring an Enduring Culture Through Music.” The four-day lesson plan details the rise of antisemitism in prewar Europe, Jewish traditions and more.

The timing, sadly, couldn’t be more appropriate.

“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.”

He’s not wrong.

TeachRock, established in 2013, offers K-12 lesson plans on a variety of topics, united by musical themes.

Van Zandt isn’t Jewish, but he appreciates not just Jewish culture but how Jewish people contributed to the entertainment industry.

Springsteen has spent the last year attacking President Donald Trump from concert stages nationwide. And that’s his right. It would be nice, though, if he used his bully pulpit to echo what his band mate is sharing with children.

Hearing yet another celebrity rage against President Trump isn’t new or noteworthy. If someone of Springsteen’s status addressed antisemitism, however, it could matter.

Consider how much attention Boy George has received in recent weeks for standing up for the Jewish community. 

Why can’t Springsteen do the same?

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The rocker’s recent comments suggest something darker about the music legend.

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.

You make the call.

Springsteen’s defenders can say he can’t speak out about every injustice, a fair comment. His El-Sayed endorsement, however, shatters that defense.

Perhaps he’s merely falling in line with his industry’s knee-jerk political beliefs. It’s more popular to cry, “Free Palestine,” and falsely label Israel’s defensive war as a “genocide” than defend the Jewish people.

Van Zandt is an encouraging exception to the new rule. Let’s hope he pulls his old friend aside and shows him the error of his ways.