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 officials 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 showed several Palestinian flags waving as the performer and attendees shouted back and forth.
At one point, Vylan shouted "Free, Free, Free Palestine," and again, had some in the crowd repeat what he said.
Before returning to his set, though, Vylan ended the chant and said, "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 investigation."
The BBC reported 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 said it issued a warning on screen about "very strong and discriminatory language" during the live stream, The Associated Press reported.
Festival organizers did not take the comments lightly and have since released a statement on Instagram saying, "Glastonbury Festival was created in 1970 as a place for people to come together and rejoice in music, the arts and the best of human endeavour."
"As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. We will always believe in - and actively campaign for - hope, unity, peace and love," the statement read. "With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, 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 yesterday," the statement 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 200,000 music fans every year to Worthy Farm in southwest England. About 4,000 acts perform during the festival on 120 stages.
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