Gaza sets Glastonbury ablaze, Bob Vylan chants against Israel: “Death to the IDF, free Palestine”

No step back from Bob Vylan . “I said what I said,” we read on the group’s Instagram profile after the statements against Israel and the army of the Jewish State, IDF, the distancing by the Glastonbury festival, the condemnation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. What took place on the stage of the most famous musical event in the United Kingdom , with thousands of artists on hundreds of stages that every year attract up to 200 thousand people in the area of ​​Worthy Farm, in the south-west of England, has become an international case. According to data provided by the Ministry of Health of Hamas , which with its massacres on 7 October 2023 provoked Israel’s military reaction, there are over 56,500 victims in the Strip: data that are largely underestimated according to the Lancet .

“Liberate, liberate Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF ,” shouted frontman Bobby Vylan from the West Holts stage. Bob Vylan is a punk-hip hop duo from London, who have released five albums. “The United Nations has called it a genocide . The BBC calls it a ‘conflict’,” they added, repeating the pro-Pal slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be, and will be, free.” The crowd followed the chants led by the performers on stage, with Palestinian flags in the crowd. On Instagram, festival director Emily Eavis wrote that she and the other organisers were horrified by the chants. “Their chants have definitely crossed a line and we urgently remind everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

The BBC , which live-streamed the event, said the comments were “deeply offensive ” and that the platform would not make the performance available on demand. The duo’s words became a diplomatic issue when Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech”. Avon Somerset Police announced they would investigate the words spoken from the stage at the festival. The Israeli embassy also condemned the comments, saying it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric”.

Vylan said on Instagram that he was “inundated with messages of support and hate” and was inspired by his daughter ’s response. “Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way to make this world a better place,” he wrote. “As we grow older and our fires perhaps begin to dim under the pressure of adulthood and all of its responsibilities, it’s incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that’s been passed to us. Let’s show them, loudly and visibly, the right thing to do when we want and need change. Let them see it marching in the streets, campaigning on the ground, organizing online, and shouting it from every stage we’re given. Today it’s change in school lunches, tomorrow it’s change in foreign policy.”

Bob Vylan’s set was followed by Kneecap , an Irish rap band who have already been accused of anti-Semitism by Prime Minister Starmer because of their pro-Palestine stance. “I said Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other artist who makes threats or incites violence. The BBC must explain how this was broadcast.” The band responded from the stage: “The Prime Minister of your country – not ours – said he didn’t want us to play,” proclaimed Mo Chara , currently facing terrorism charges in the UK for allegedly showing support for Hamas and Hezbollah. “So f*** it Keir Starmer.”

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Anthony Lamorte