Calls for Canada to bar bands Kneecap, Bob Vylan over anti-Israel messages test limits of free expression
Chanting for the death of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert. Cheering for Hamas. Calling on fans in the U.K. to "kill your local MP."
These are a few of the things that have a Jewish and Israeli advocacy organization and some Canadian politicians calling for the Irish rap group Kneecap and the British punk rap duo Bob Vylan to be barred from performing in Canada.
The two groups are already facing obstacles and restrictions when it comes to touring overseas, while organizations like the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) want the federal government to do the same and prevent either act from appearing in Canada.
"Performers who glorify terrorism or incite hatred to enter Canada and perform here would send a deeply troubling signal," David Cooper, the organization's vice-president of government relations, said in a letter to federal ministers.
Both bands are outspoken about the war in Gaza and both have faced police investigations in the U.K., following recent performances in which they made controversial comments about Israel or appeared to signal support for the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, something they both refute.
Fans and supporters have decried what they see as attempts to censor the bands and punish them for protesting Israel's war against Hamas and attacks on Gaza, while critics see them as fuelling antisemitism and hate crimes against Jews.
Discussions of whether to block either band from entering Canada show just how tricky it is to navigate the limits of free expression in this country.
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"The problem with the demand that they be banned is that the way we solve difficult issues in democratic societies is by public discourse, often very difficult, fraught, contentious public discourse," said James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression based at Toronto Metropolitan University. "And that's always undermined when one side wants to censor the other side."
According to Canada's Criminal Code, anyone who makes a statement in a public place that incites hatred against an identifiable group "where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace" is guilty of an indictable offence.
Cancellations, visa issues
Kneecap is scheduled to play four sold-out shows in Toronto and Vancouver this fall as a part of a tour that includes dates across the U.S.
But it's been surrounded by controversy since its performance at the Coachella music festival in California in April, where the Northern Ireland trio projected messages reading "Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people" and "f--k Israel, free Palestine" on stage.
Then, video re-emerged from a 2023 concert, in London, England, when one member said, "The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP." The band apologized amid concert cancellations in Europe.
Another video appeared to show one of the band members shouting "up Hezbollah, up Hamas" at a 2024 concert in London while wearing a Hezbollah flag over his head. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are designated terror groups in Britain, as well in Canada.
The latter incident led to Kneecap's Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, known by the stage name Mo Chara, facing a terrorism offence.
A British police agency launched investigations into Kneecap and Bob Vylan after their performances last month at the Glastonbury Festival.
Avon and Somerset police said Friday it wouldn't be taking action against Kneecap, citing "insufficient evidence," but that its investigation into frontman Bobby Vylan leading audience members in chanting "death, death to the IDF" and "Free Palestine," is ongoing.
Bob Vylan has also seen its U.S. visas revoked over what Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau called a "hateful tirade" at Glastonbury .
UTA, the band's agent, severed ties after that and it was dropped from some music festivals in Europe.
The duo is scheduled to play several U.S. cities on a tour this fall, according to promoter Live Nation's website, but no stops are scheduled in Canada.
The CIJA wants the federal government to take a cue from the U.S.
The organization says it wrote to federal ministers urging them to bar Kneecap and Bob Vylan from entering Canada because "their conduct violates Canadian hate speech laws" and that they "shouldn't be given a platform here."
A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says entry to Canada is assessed on an individual basis and can be denied based on "concerns related to security, human or international rights violations or criminal activity."
In an email to CBC News, the ministry said it would not comment on the specific cases of the bands, citing privacy legislation.
Mount Royal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, however, told The Canadian Press he supports the idea and says he has addressed it with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
"It's clear we need certainty that they can't enter the country to incite hatred in Canada," he said.
In a post on X last month, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner, the MP for Calgary Nose Hill, also called on Immigration Minister Lena Diab to deny any requests for Bob Vylan to enter Canada.
Neither band should be surprised they are facing calls to be barred from Canada or other countries, said Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute, an online research centre aiming to combat antisemitism and hate speech.
He doesn't believe this is a case of censorship or limiting freedom of speech as he has seen some people suggest.
"If an artist crosses the line from political expression into support of terrorism, they shouldn't get a pass just because they are holding a microphone instead of a weapon," he told CBC News in an interview from London.
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Difficult discussions in democratic societies
Turk says the right to freedom of expression has limits when it comes to harassment, discrimination and threats of violence, but "simply saying things that are pro-Palestinian or that pro-Israeli supporters find offensive" is not grounds for denying entry to Canada.
The bar for what constitutes hate speech in Canada is quite high, he said, and "the claim that something's hate speech doesn't make it hate speech," adding that you need to closely examine the context of what's being said.
Kneecap and Bob Vylan deny they're trying to incite violence or hate.
Bob Vylan vocalist and guitarist Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, said in an Instagram post on July 1 that he is "not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people" and that the band is being targetted for speaking up for Palestinians.
JJ Ó Dochartaigh, another of Kneecap's members who's known as DJ Próvai, told the Guardian last month that the band wants to "stop people being murdered."
"There's people starving to death, people being bombed every day," he said.
Turk said that rather than demanding they be barred from Canada, people who oppose Kneecap and Bob Vylan also have the right to protest and voice their criticism at the very place they band's messages are most likely to be heard — their concerts.
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WARNING: This video contains distressing images | Dozens of aid organizations are calling for an immediate change to how aid is delivered in Gaza. They say Palestinians are left with an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot.
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