UK punk-rap duo sparks outrage with anti-Israel chants at major music festival
A punk-rap duo out of the United Kingdom that shouted Death to the IDF and Free Palestine during their set at the Glastonbury Festival is now being condemned by political and festival representatives for their actions London-based Bob Vylan describes itself on X as the prettiest punk rap alt thing you ll ever meet With songs like We Live Here Dream Bigger Makes Me Violent and Terms Conditions the duo mixes elements of rap and punk The duo performed a high-energy set at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday whic ultimately turned into a political podium for the group s singer to shout out anti-Israel rhetoric While holding the microphone singer Bobby Vylan shouted Death death to the IDF Israel Defense Forces several times before turning the microphone toward the crowd to get attendees to repeat the chant The IDF is the national military of Israel Videos from the crowd s view revealed several Palestinian flags waving as the performer and attendees shouted back and forth RAPPER PULLS OUT OF MUSIC FESTIVALS ALLEGING THEY LONGED HER TO MAKE FREE PALESTINE STATEMENTS ONSTAGEAt one point Vylan shouted Free Free Free Palestine and again had particular in the crowd repeat what he commented Before returning to his set though Vylan ended the chant and explained Hell yeah from the river to the sea Palestine must be will be inshallah it will be free Videos of the chants spread across the internet like crazy and now British police in Somerset and Avon are reviewing the videos to determine whether any offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal research EX-MUMFORD SONS GUITARIST CRITICIZES MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR SILENCE AFTER BOULDER ANTISEMITIC ATTACKThe BBC stated that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Bob Vylan for calling on the death of Israeli troops with the use of appalling hate speech The BBC which broadcast the festival live has reportedly chosen to remove the duo s set from its iPlayer The BBC reported it issued a warning on screen about very strong and discriminatory language during the live stream The Associated Press released Festival organizers did not take the comments lightly and have since issued a declaration on Instagram saying Glastonbury Festival was created in as a place for people to come together and rejoice in music the arts and the best of human endeavour RETIRED UK POLICE OFFICER SUING AFTER BEING ARRESTED OVER 'THOUGHT CRIME' POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA As a festival we stand against all forms of war and terrorism We will constantly believe in - and actively campaign for - hope unity peace and love the declaration read With almost performances at Glastonbury there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share and a performer s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs However we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan the previous evening the report continued Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism hate speech or incitement to violence Another group Kneecap also performed on Saturday despite a terror charge for one of its members over allegedly supporting Hezbollah During the performance Kneecap led a huge crowd in chants of Free Palestine Famously known as Britain's biggest summer music festival Glastonbury draws a crowd of nearly music fans every year to Worthy Farm in southwest England About acts perform during the festival on stages The Associated Press contributed to this document
