Quentin Tarantino relocates to London from Israel. Was the Gaza war behind the move?

Quentin Tarantino has announced that he and his wife, Israeli singer Daniella Pick, will relocate to London early next year as he prepares to launch his first West End play.

Tarantino, who has lived in Tel Aviv for several years since marrying Pick, the daughter of the late Israeli pop singer Svika Pick, says the move is about balancing work with fatherhood. The couple share two young children, and the filmmaker admitted on a recent podcast that he wants to stay close to them while they are still little.

"When my daughter comes home at three from school, her first thing is 'Aba aba aba'. That’s Hebrew for daddy. She hasn’t seen daddy all day, so she comes up 'Aba aba aba aba', and you know, I like being there," Tarantino said on his podcast The Church of Tarantino. 

"It’s just really precious to me… right now is not the time to run away with the circus."

But the timing of his relocation has raised eyebrows, which comes as Israel faces mounting global condemnation over its devastating war on Gaza, as well as its attack on Iran that prompted a fierce response from Tehran that reached right into the heart of Israel.

With tens of thousands of Gazans dead and Israeli forces gearing up for a major assault on Gaza City, Tarantino's decision to swap pads in Tel Aviv for London has sparked speculation about whether the bloody conflict played a role.

The director has not addressed Israel's war on Gaza directly since it began in October 2023, though he did make headlines last October for visiting an Israeli army base in southern Israel shortly after.

At the time, Israeli media described his tour as a gesture to "boost morale" among soldiers preparing for battle.

The visit drew criticism from pro-Palestine voices who saw it as an endorsement of military actions that escalated into what many leading human rights groups consider to be genocide. 

Daniella Pick, who continues to pursue her music career, has not commented publicly on the conflict.