Israel expresses deep concern over inflammatory, hateful rhetoric at Glastonbury Festival in UK
London: The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom on Saturday expressed deep concern over inflammatory and hateful rhetoric at the Glastonbury Festival.
The embassy specifically highlighted chants such as "Death to the IDF" and "From the river to the sea" as advocating for the dismantling of the State of Israel and the elimination of Jewish self-determination.
The embassy acknowledges freedom of expression as a cornerstone of democracy but emphasised that speech crossing into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing must be condemned.
"The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. But when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out--especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms," Israeli Embassy in the UK stated in a post on X.
The embassy raised concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence when such messages are delivered to large audiences and met with applause.
"Chants such as "Death to the IDF," and "From the river to the sea" are slogans that advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel and implicitly call for the elimination of Jewish self-determination. When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence," the post added.
The Embassy of Israel calls on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce the rhetoric and reject all forms of hatred.
"We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject all forms of hatred," the statement said.
The Irish-language rap group Kneecap led the crowds in chants of "Free Palestine" and "F*** Keir Starmer," after the British Prime Minister said he didn't think it "appropriate" for the trio to play the festival, given the terror offense charges one of its members is currently facing, The Times of Israel reported.
The group has made headlines in recent months with their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, and one of their members has been charged with a terror offense for allegedly supporting Hezbollah.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, has been charged under the Terrorism Act with supporting a proscribed organisation for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag and shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah," at a concert in London in November.
The rapper, who was charged under the anglicised version of his name, Liam O'Hanna, is on unconditional bail before a further court hearing in August, The Times of Israel reported.
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