Paul Sandle, Reuters

GLASTONBURY, England − Glastonbury organizers say they’re appalled by onstage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance by the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, saying the music festival was no place for antisemitism or incitement to violence.

During a show on Saturday, June 28, the duo chanted “Death, death, to the IDF” in apparent reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

British police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after artists at Glastonbury made anti-Israel comments on stage, without naming Bob Vylan.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” Avon and Somerset Police in western England, where the festival is held, said on X.

Festival organizers criticized the chanting by Bob Vylan, made up of guitarist and singer Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan, their stage names.

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“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,” the festival said in a statement shared on Instagram.

The Israeli Embassy in Britain condemned the “inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed” at the festival.

Bob Vylan’s band members did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Their show on the festival’s West Holts stage took place just before controversial Irish rap trio Kneecap played to a huge crowd, leading chants against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and also taking aim at Israel.

During the show, frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh accused Israel of committing war crimes, saying: “There’s no hiding it.”

Known by the stage name Mo Chara, he was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert. He has denied the charge.

Senior members of Starmer’s government also criticized the chants by Bob Vylan.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was appalling that the comments had been made on stage, adding that he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“I’d also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” Streeting told Sky News.

“I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens toward Palestinians more seriously.”

Political commentator Ash Sarkar said it was typical of punk musicians to spark controversy.

“Don’t book punk bands if you don’t want them to do punk stuff,” said Sarkar, a contributing editor to Novara Media, a leftist media organization.

Contributing: Sophie Royle, Reuters

Starmer criticises ‘appalling’ Bob Vylan IDF chants

3 hours ago Share Save Adam Hale & Zahra Fatima BBC News Sam Francis Political reporter Share Save

Getty Images Bob Vylan performed on the West Holts Stage just ahead of a performance by Kneecap

The prime minister has condemned UK punk duo Bob Vylan for urging “death” to Israeli troops in what he called “appalling hate speech”. Glastonbury Festival organisers have also said they were “appalled” after frontman rapper Bobby Vylan led chants of “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”. In a statement, Sir Keir Starmer said the BBC had questions to answer over its live broadcast of the group’s performance on Saturday. A BBC spokesperson previously said some of the comments were “deeply offensive”, adding it had issued a warning on screen about “very strong and discriminatory language”. The set will not be available on BBC iPlayer.

Sir Keir has also criticised Kneecap saying ahead of the festival that their appearance was not “appropriate”. The Irish-language rap group have previously described Israel’s military action in Gaza as a genocide. He said: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech. “I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.” The prime minister is the latest in a string of cabinet ministers to denounce Bobby Vylan’s comments in the 24 hours since the group appeared at Glastonbury. Directly after the set, a government spokesperson said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had pressed BBC boss Tim Davie for an urgent explanation of the broadcaster’s vetting process. The government added that it welcomed the decision not to re-broadcast the performance on BBC iPlayer. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said it was “clear” the rapper was “inciting violence and hatred” and should be prosecuted. In a post shared on X on Sunday, he also called on the police to “urgently investigate and prosecute the BBC” who he claimed “appear to have also broken the law”. “Our national broadcaster should not be transmitting hateful material designed to incite violence and conflict,” he said. The BBC has been asked for further comment. Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said Bob Vylan’s comments were “revolting”. He said the “irony of that music festival is that Israelis were taken from a music festival, killed, raped and in some cases are still being held captive”.

Glastonbury Festival has said Bob Vylan’s statements “very much crossed a line”. A joint Instagram post from Glastonbury Festival and organiser Emily Eavis on Sunday said the event stood “against all forms of war and terrorism”, and that with almost 4,000 performances on site “there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share”. “However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday,” it 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.” Bob Vylan are an English punk duo based in London. Bobby Vylan serves as the singer and guitarist, while Bobbie Vylan is the drummer of the band. Both members use stage names to maintain their privacy and collectively refer to themselves as “the Bobs”. Antisemitism campaigners said they will formally complain to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast the act live.

Getty Images Frontman Bobby Vylan’s chants were described as revolting by Wes Streeting

The Campaign Against Antisemitism group said in a post on X that Glastonbury had “continued its headlong descent into a pit of extremism and hatred, but it is the behaviour of the BBC that is even more dangerous”. It said it would formally complain to the BBC for broadcasting the performance, as well as that of Kneecap. The BBC did not run a live broadcast of Kneecap’s set due to editorial concerns around impartiality, but on Sunday announced the set had been made available on iPlayer, with some edits. It said the content had been edited to ensure it “falls within the limits of artistic expression in line with our editorial guidelines” and any strong language had been signposted with “appropriate warnings”. Kneecap has made headlines in recent months after rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terrorism offence. He is accused of displaying the flag of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig last year. He has denied the charge. Following sets from both groups, Avon and Somerset Police said it would review footage of comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage. The force said footage “will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”.

Getty Images Kneecap’s highly-charged performance on Saturday drew huge crowds at the festival

Glastonbury organisers appalled at ‘death to IDF’ chant

| June 30, 2025

Organisers of the Glastonbury Festival have criticised chants by duo Bob Vylan.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organisers say they are appalled by on-stage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance at the festival by Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

During their show on Saturday, the duo chanted “Death, death, to the IDF” in reference to the Israel Defence Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

“There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech,” Starmer said.

“I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence,” he said.

“The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”

Police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation but did not name Bob Vylan or Irish rap band Kneecap, who appeared on the same stage and also criticised Israel.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” Avon and Somerset Police, in western England where the festival is held, said on X late on Saturday.

We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation. pic.twitter.com/w2RQ4LdQf3 — Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) June 28, 2025

The festival organisers criticised the chanting by Bob Vylan, which comprises the guitarist-singer with the stage name Bobby Vylan and a drummer known as Bobbie Vylan.

“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 anti-Semitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” it said on Sunday.

The Israeli Embassy in the UK condemned the “inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed” on stage at the festival.

Bob Vylan’s band members did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The BBC 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,” a spokesperson said.

“We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

Bob Vylan’s show on the festival’s West Holts stage took place just before controversial Irish rap trio Kneecap played to a huge crowd, leading chants against Starmer and also taking aim at Israel.

During the show, frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh accused Israel of committing war crimes, saying: “There’s no hiding it.”

Known by the stage name Mo Chara, he was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a concert.

He has denied the charge.

Starmer had said it was “not appropriate” for Kneecap to play at the festival.

A senior member of his government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, earlier on Sunday criticised the chants by Bob Vylan but added that he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“I’d also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” Streeting told Sky News.

“I wish they’d take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously.”

with PA

PRIME Minister Keir Starmer has said Bob Vylan’s chants about the Israeli military at Glastonbury were “appalling hate speech” and doubled down on calls for Kneecap to be deplatformed.

The Labour leader’s comments come after Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, led crowds at the festival’s West Holts Stage in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF”.

Irish trio Kneecap performed to a packed-out crowd after Bobby Vylan’s set at the festival where they led chants of “f*** Keir Starmer” after several politicians called for the group to be removed from the line-up in the run up to the festival, including Starmer who said their performance would not be “appropriate”.

Responding to the chants from Bob Vylan, the Prime Minister has questioned why the BBC allowed it to be broadcast while doubling down on calls for deplatforming Kneecap.

He said: “There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech.

“I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence.

“The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast.”

Earlier on Sunday, Avon and Somerset Police said video evidence from both Kneecap and Bobby Vylan’s performances would be assessed by officers “to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation”.

A statement posted to Instagram from Glastonbury’s organisers said that Bob Vylan’s chants “very much crossed a line”.

Organisers added: “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.”

When asked for comment 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.”

Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, stage name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence.

The group performed after Vylan’s set on the West Holts Stage, which the BBC decided not to broadcast live, with O hAnnaidh exclaiming “Glastonbury, I’m a free man” as they took to the stage.

In reference to his bandmate’s forthcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, stage name Moglai Bap, said they would “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine”.

During the performance, Caireallain called out the Prime Minister for his previous comments, as he 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.

The Glastonbury Festival’s official response to chants of “Death to the IDF” and “From the river to the sea” from the stage this weekend was slammed Sunday by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, with the Jewish advocacy group’s CEO calling the statement “bland,” “cowardice” and “complicity.”

Glastonbury organizers said in a Sunday Instagram post that they are “appalled” by the onstage statements of the punk duo Bob Vylan, whose singer led the crowd on Saturday in a series of chants including “Death, death to the IDF” and “Free Palestine.”

“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,” the festival and organizer Emily Eavis posted Sunday.

Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said the onstage display “was not just disgraceful; it was sickening, dangerous, and chillingly reminiscent of a modern-day Nazi rally.” He was equally unimpressed with the festival’s response.

“Saying the chants merely ‘crossed a line’ and offering vague ‘reminders’ to artists is not accountability — it’s cowardice,” Berk said. “When confronted with explicit calls for violence against Jews, anything short of absolute condemnation and corrective action is complicity.”

Read Berk’s entire statement below:

“What happened on the stages of Glastonbury yesterday was not just disgraceful; it was sickening, dangerous, and chillingly reminiscent of a modern-day Nazi rally. When Bob Vylan chanted “Death, death to the IDF” and Kneecap urged fans to “start a riot” outside a court where one of their members faces terrorism-related charges, it was public incitement, not performance. The explicit calls for violence against Jews, broadcast live by the BBC without interruption, literally gave hate a stage, a microphone, and the stamp of legitimacy of one of Britain’s most respected public institutions.

This was a calculated act of hate speech, glorifying violence and dehumanizing Jews through the demonization of Israel. The bile once spewed at fascist rallies in 1930s Europe is now being blasted from British concert stages, cheered on by huge crowds and broadcast by taxpayer-funded media. If festival organizers and broadcasters can’t (or won’t) foresee violent speech against Jews, the Glastonbury concert-goers certainly could: horrifically, the crowd of thousands was primed to join in call and response to Bob Vylan’s hateful chant.

At Coachella earlier this year, we saw similar antisemitic themes thinly disguised as activism. Cultural spaces once devoted to peace and unity are being hijacked to mainstream hate.

And Glastonbury’s bland response? Saying the chants merely “crossed a line” and offering vague “reminders” to artists is not accountability—it’s cowardice. When confronted with explicit calls for violence against Jews, anything short of absolute condemnation and corrective action is complicity.

On October 7, 2023, hundreds of young people were massacred and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists at Israel’s Nova music festival. To hear calls for the death of Jews at a music event in the UK is deeply retraumatizing and terrifying. When young Jews attend a music festival they are murdered: when young Britons attend one, they’re calling for those murders.

This is a moment of reckoning. Festival organizers, media outlets, and artists must choose: will they be platforms for peace, or enablers of hate? Because silence is not neutrality, it is a green light for bigotry.

Festivals must be prepared to halt performances that invoke hate; broadcasters must air festivals on deferred live and use their kill switch to take hate speech immediately off the air.

Never again is not a slogan: It’s a responsibility. And it’s being betrayed on the world’s biggest stages.”