Controversy at Glastonbury Festival Over Two Groups’ Statements: “Death to the Israeli Army”

British police are investigating a series of statements against Israel made from the stage during concerts at the Glastonbury festival by the punk duo Bob Vylan and the Irish trio Kneecap, which called for, among other things, the “death” of the Israeli army. Officers from the English counties of Avon and Somerset, where the festival takes place, indicated on X (the former Twitter) that they are analyzing footage of these performances, which took place on Saturday, to determine if any crimes were committed that would warrant a criminal investigation.

The slogans sparked criticism from the Israeli embassy in London, while British politicians demanded explanations from the public broadcaster BBC, which aired the event. During his performance on the West Holts stage, Bob Vylan encouraged the audience to chant “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF.”

For its part, Kneecap, one of whose members faces a terrorism charge for displaying a flag of the Lebanese group Hezbollah in 2023, began its show by attacking British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had deemed their presence at the festival “inappropriate.” Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh (Mo Chara), who is scheduled to appear in court on August 20, appeared with a Palestinian scarf, while his colleague JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Provai) wore his usual balaclava with the three colors of the Irish flag and a shirt supporting Palestine Action, a group the Labour government wants to outlaw.

Naoise O Cairellain, artistically known as Móglai Bap, urged to “incite a riot outside the courts” in support of his colleague, although he later clarified that “there will be no riots, only love and support, and support for Palestine.” Health Minister Wes Streeting called the chants “horrible” and stated that both the BBC and the festival “have questions to answer” for allowing their dissemination, although he acknowledged that he does not know if it could have been logistically avoided. He also urged the Israeli Embassy, which denounced what it considers antisemitism on social media, to “address the violence of its own citizens” against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The Israeli embassy expressed on X that it is “deeply disturbed” by the “incendiary and hate-filled” messages delivered during the festival and stated that “freedom of expression should not be used to justify incitement to hatred or violence.” A spokesman for the BBC asserted that some expressions were “deeply offensive,” and this was warned during the live broadcast, adding that it will not include the performances of these groups in its on-demand service.

The organizers of the Glastonbury festival, which concludes this Sunday, issued a statement saying that they “do not tolerate hate speech or incitement to violence of any kind by their artists.”