UK government condemns 'Death to IDF' chants at Glastonbury festival

A British punk-rap group faced escalating criticism on Sunday for using anti-Israel statements during the Glastonbury festival, which prompted a police investigation.

During their Saturday set, Bob Vylan led fans in chants of “Death, death to the IDF,” an allusion to the Israeli military’s acronym.

British authorities are also investigating statements made by Irish rap trio Kneecap, who have been fiercely critical of Israel and its current military assault against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

One of Kneecap’s members wore a T-shirt dedicated to the Palestine Action Group, which is due to be outlawed under UK terror legislation.

The UK government has “strongly condemned” Bob Vylan’s shouts, which event organisers claimed had “very much crossed a line”.

More from World

Hamas signals willingness to negotiate Gaza ceasefire after US proposal Qatar-Saudi boost to US proposal drives Israel-Hamas ceasefire, hostage talks to a breakthrough

“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,” the festival said in a statement.

Avon and Somerset police said Saturday that video evidence would be assessed by officers “to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”.

‘Life is sacred’

The chants about Israel’s military, condemned by the Israeli embassy in London, were led by Bob Vylan’s frontman Bobby Vylan.

They were broadcast live on the BBC, which airs coverage of Britain’s most popular music festival.

Quick Reads

View All

‘It’s no secret’: Russia says Ukraine must cede all of Donbas for truce as part of Putin-Trump formula

Successful India makes world ‘more stable and secure’: EU chief Ursula ahead of trade deal

“I thought it’s appalling, to be honest,” UK minister Wes Streeting said of the chants, adding that “all life is sacred”.

“I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens,” he told Sky News.

The Israel embassy said in a statement late Saturday “it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival”.

But Streeting, Labour’s health secretary, also took aim at the embassy, telling it to “get your own house in order”.

“I think there’s a serious point there by the Israeli embassy. I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously,” he said, citing settler violence in the West Bank.

A spokesperson for the BBC said Vylan’s comments were “deeply offensive” and the broadcaster had “no plans” to make the performance available on its on-demand service.

‘A joke’

Kneecap, who have made headlines in recent months with their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, led crowds in chanting abuse against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Starmer, and other politicians, had said the band should not perform after its member Liam O’Hanna, known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence.

He appeared in court earlier this month accused of having displayed a Hezbollah flag while saying “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” after a video resurfaced of a London concert last year.

The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are banned in the UK, and it is an offence to express support for them.

O’Hanna has denied the charge and told the Guardian newspaper in an interview published on Friday that “it was a joke – we’re playing characters”.

Kneecap regularly lead crowds in chants of “Free Palestine” during their concerts. Their fans revere them for their anti-establishment stance and criticism of British imperialism but detractors call them extremists.

The group apologised this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative lawmakers.

Israel launched an offensive against Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza after the Islamist militant group launched an attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,412 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.