Anti-Israel band plays victim after being hammered for saying ‘death to the IDF' during music festival

Fox News

10 hours ago

British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan doubled down on their anti-Israel statements on Tuesday after being slammed for uttering them during a performance at the Glastonbury music festival over the weekend.
In a post shared to their Instagram page, the musicians declared that they're being "targeted" after being criticized and having their visas removed by the U.S. government for saying "Death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]," and other anti-Israel slogans during their set at the premier British music festival.
"We are getting targeted for speaking up. We are not the first. We will not be the last. And if you care for the sanctity of human life and freedom of speech, we urge you to speak up, too," the post stated.
"We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people," Bob Vylan continued. "We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine. A machine whose own soldiers were told to use 'unnecessary lethal force' against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza."
During their set on Saturday, one of the members of the London-based rap group 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. Videos from the crowd's view showed several Palestinian flags waving as the performer and attendees shouted back and forth.
Elsewhere during the performance, he chanted, "Free, Free, Free Palestine," as well as, "Hell yeah, from the river to the sea. Palestine must be, will be inshallah, it will be free."
The anti-Israel chanting went viral on social media, prompting complaints from even the U.K. government. The BBC reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the words "appalling hate speech."
The BBC, which broadcast the festival live, removed the Bob Vylan set from its iPlayer. The British network also told The Associated Press that it had issued a "very strong and discriminatory language" warning label during its livestream of the event.
Festival organizers released a statement on Instagram condemning the stunt.
"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," they wrote.
British police in Somerset and Avon even reviewed videos of Bob Vylan's performance to "determine whether any offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation."
The U.S. State Department revoked the band's visas ahead of their U.S. tour later this year. A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Monday, "The secretary of state has been clear – the U.S. will not approve visas for terrorist sympathizers."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued multiple warnings that the State Department will rescind visas for "terrorists" and those affiliated with them.
In their response, the band said the heat on them was a "distraction" from what Israel is doing in Gaza.
"We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction. The government doesn't want us to ask why they remain silent in the face of this atrocity? To ask why they aren't doing more to stop the killing? To feed the starving," they wrote.