LOS ANGELES – A heated debate over Israel and the war in Gaza turned violent Monday when Arab-Israeli activist and former IDF Golani commander Yoseph Haddad was physically confronted by anti-Israel influencer and failed Republican congressional candidate Dennis Feitosa during a recording of the Digital Social Hour podcast hosted by Sean Kelly.
Footage circulating online shows Feitosa, known online as “Def Noodles,” repeatedly calling Haddad a “genocidal freak,” “baby killer,” and “murderer” while the two faced off in a one-versus-many debate format. Haddad, an Israeli Arab Christian who voluntarily served in the Israel Defense Forces, had been invited to debate a rotating group of roughly 10 anti-Israel activists.
According to video from inside the studio, Feitosa initiated physical contact by grabbing Haddad’s arm and hand across the table. Haddad responded by pulling Feitosa forward, after which the two briefly scuffled before being separated by others in the room.
The confrontation did not end there. Outside in the parking lot after filming concluded, Feitosa approached Haddad from behind and put him in a headlock, according to multiple video angles and Haddad’s own account. Haddad fought back, landing punches as bystanders intervened to pull the men apart.
“I was attacked by a groyper in the U.S.… he just didn’t realize he had picked a Golani soldier,” Haddad posted on X afterward. He later said he filed a formal police complaint, describing the parking-lot assault as an attack from behind. “I am OK. I can’t say the same thing about the neo-Nazi,” Haddad added.
Feitosa has disputed that characterization, claiming Haddad was the aggressor and challenging him to a formal boxing match. In comments following the incident, Feitosa accused Haddad of admitting to ordering strikes that killed civilians and called him “evil.”
Haddad, one of the most prominent Arab voices defending Israel, has long been a target of anti-Israel activists for his service in the IDF’s Golani Brigade and his advocacy against what he describes as antisemitic propaganda. Feitosa, who ran unsuccessfully in California’s 30th Congressional District Republican primary earlier this year, has built a following through online content critical of Israel and U.S. support for the Jewish state.
No arrests have been reported, and neither man appears to have suffered serious injuries. The incident highlights the increasingly volatile atmosphere surrounding debates over Israel, where verbal attacks frequently spill into physical ones when pro-Israel voices confront hardline critics.
Sean Kelly’s Digital Social Hour is known for lengthy, unfiltered conversations with controversial guests. The episode was structured as an “outnumbered” format placing Haddad against multiple opponents in succession.
Haddad has said he remains undeterred. “I came to a confrontation with a group of anti-Israel activists who simply broke down in the face of the truth,” he stated.
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