Glastonbury Festival 'appalled' by Bob Vylan's chants of 'death to the IDF' during performance

ITV News

10 hours ago

Glastonbury Festival has said it is "appalled" by the comments made by Bobby Vylan, of punk duo Bob Vylan, during their set on Saturday, adding that they "very much crossed the line".
The performer led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of "death, death to the IDF'.
It came before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' at his bandmate's forthcoming court appearance.
Avon and Somerset Police said they are assessing video evidence to "determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.'
In a post on Instagram, the festival said they stand "against all forms of war and terrorism".
They added: "We are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday.
"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.'
Health Secretary Wes Streeting also called the chants "appalling", adding that the BBC and festival have 'questions to answer'.
Speaking on Sky News' Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Streeting said: 'I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens.'
He added: 'The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival, when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive, whether it's a Palestinian or an Israeli, whether it's a Christian, a Jew or a Muslim, all life is precious.
'All life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.'
On social media, the Israeli Embassy said it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival'.
In a statement, it said: "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."
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the scenes 'grotesque', writing on X: 'Glorifying violence against Jews isn't edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked.'
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it would be formally complaining to the BBC over its 'outrageous decision' to broadcast Bob Vylan.
A spokesperson said: 'Our national broadcaster must apologise for its dissemination of this extremist vitriol, and those responsible must be removed from their positions.'
A BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive.
'During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.'
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a government spokesperson said.
The rap-trio Kneecap have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. He denies the charges.
In reference to his bandmate's forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine'.
In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'.
During the performance, Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.'
He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up.