The United Kingdom police have announced that they are investigating offensive statements made by artists during this year’s Glastonbury Festival, after explicit demonstrations against Israel in musical performances.
The most controversial case involved rapper Bobby Vylan of the duo Bob Vylan, who climbed the West Holts stage on Saturday (27) and led the audience on shouts of “Palestine Free”. He then encouraged songs against Israel’s Defense Forces (FDI): “Okay, but have you heard this? Death, death to the FDI,” he said in a widely reverberated video in the networks.
The performance was accompanied by a big screen with the phrase: “the United Nations called this genocide. The BBC calls this a ‘conflict’,” in reference to the war in Gaza and how the British public channel covers the theme.
The embassy of Israel in London reacted vehemently, saying it was “deeply disturbed” with what it called “hateful rhetoric” and denouncing the risk of normalization of extremism: “Songs such as” death to the FDI ‘, in the face of tens of thousands of people, raise serious concerns about the glorification of violence. “
The appeal of the diplomatic mission included a direct collection to the organizers of the British festival, artists and authorities to publicly condemn verbal attacks and reject any form of incitement to hatred.
The festival’s organization declared itself “horrified” with the episode and stated that the lines “surpassed the boundaries”, reiterating that “there is no room for anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence” in Glastonbury.
Another point of tension involved the Irish band Kneecap. Vocalist Liam O’Hanna, known as Mo Chara, is being investigated for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag – a group classified as a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom – during a show in London in November 2024. He denies the accusations. Despite the historical, the group presented itself normally.
Somerset police, where the festival is held in England, said it was analyzing videos of the presentations to verify that any crime was committed. British health secretary Wes Streeting classified the episode as “terrible” in an interview with Sky News and said both BBC and event organizers need to explain.
The BBC, which broadcast the live show, considered Vylan’s lines “deeply offensive” and said it will not make the presentation available on its Iplayer platform.
