GLASTONBURY: A British punk-rap group faced growing criticism on Sunday for making anti-Israel remarks at the Glastonbury music festival that have sparked a police inquiry.
Bob Vylan led crowds in chants of “Death, death to the IDF,” a reference to the acronym for the Israeli military, during their set on Saturday.
British police officers are also examining comments by the Irish rap trio Kneecap, whose members have likewise been highly critical of Israel and its military campaign against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
One of Kneecap’s members wore a T-shirt dedicated to the Palestine Action Group, which is about to be banned under UK terror laws.
The UK government has “strongly condemned” Bob Vylan’s chants, which festival organizers said had “very much crossed a line.”
“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 offenses may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”
Israeli embassy
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.
“I thought it’s appalling, to be honest,” Wes Streeting, the Labour’s government’s health secretary, 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 that “it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.”
But Streeting 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 toward Palestinians more seriously,” he said, citing Israeli 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.
Festival-goer Joe McCabe, 31, told AFP that while he did not necessarily agree with Vylan’s statement, “I certainly think the message of questioning what’s going on there (in Gaza) is right.”
Chants of ‘Free Palestine’
Kneecap, which has made headlines in recent months with its pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, also 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 offense.
He appeared in court 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 offense to express support for them.
O’Hanna has denied the charge and told the Guardian newspaper in an interview published Friday that “it was a joke — we’re playing characters.”
Kneecap regularly lead crowds in chants of “Free Palestine” during its concerts, and fans revere them for their anti-establishment stance and criticism of British imperialism, while detractors call them extremists.
The group apologized this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative lawmakers.
![]()
UK govt condemns ‘death to the IDF’ chants at Glastonbury
Short Url
https://arab.news/wgvhu
UK govt condemns ‘death to the IDF’ chants at Glastonbury
- Bob Vylan led crowds in chants of ‘Death, death to the IDF,’ a reference to the acronym for the Israeli military, during their set on Saturday
- They were broadcast live on the BBC, which airs coverage of Britain’s most popular music festival
UK govt bans pro-Palestinian march over alleged Iran support
- The UK government has banned an annual pro-Palestinian march planned for Sunday which London police claim is organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime“
LONDON: The UK government has banned an annual pro-Palestinian march planned for Sunday which London police claim is organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime.”
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said late Tuesday she had approved the rare police request to prevent “serious public disorder” if the Al-Quds Day march and counter-protests had gone ahead.
It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012 but a static demonstration will be permitted, according to London’s Metropolitan police.
Mahmood said she was “satisfied” a ban was “necessary” due to “the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
The minister added that she expected to see “the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division.”
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), an NGO which organizes the annual Al-Quds Day march, said it “strongly condemns” the decision, which it called “politically charged.”
“We are seeking legal advice and this decision will not go unchallenged,” it added, accusing the Met of having “brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favor.”
It said the London force “unashamedly regurgitate Zionist talking points about the IHRC “without a shred of evidence.”
The group describes the day and march as an “international demonstration ... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world.”
- ‘Unique risks’ -
Al-Quds day, which takes its name from the Arabic for Jerusalem, originated in Iran in 1979 in support of the Palestinian people, and is now marked annually in various countries, notably in the Muslim world. It aims to protest Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem.
But the Met’s Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said it was “uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organized by the Islamic Human Rights Commission.”
He claimed that the organization was “supportive of the Iranian regime.”
“The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly,” Adelekan said.
He noted the Met has “a proven track record” of permitting free speech and protest rights at dozens of major pro-Palestinian and other demonstrations in recent years.
“But in our assessment this march raises unique risks and challenges,” he said.
“We must consider the likely high numbers of protesters and counter protesters coming together and the extreme tensions between different factions.
“We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas.”
The ban on the march and any associated counter-protest marches is valid for a month from Wednesday.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said late Tuesday she had approved the rare police request to prevent “serious public disorder” if the Al-Quds Day march and counter-protests had gone ahead.
It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012 but a static demonstration will be permitted, according to London’s Metropolitan police.
Mahmood said she was “satisfied” a ban was “necessary” due to “the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
The minister added that she expected to see “the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division.”
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), an NGO which organizes the annual Al-Quds Day march, said it “strongly condemns” the decision, which it called “politically charged.”
“We are seeking legal advice and this decision will not go unchallenged,” it added, accusing the Met of having “brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favor.”
It said the London force “unashamedly regurgitate Zionist talking points about the IHRC “without a shred of evidence.”
The group describes the day and march as an “international demonstration ... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world.”
- ‘Unique risks’ -
Al-Quds day, which takes its name from the Arabic for Jerusalem, originated in Iran in 1979 in support of the Palestinian people, and is now marked annually in various countries, notably in the Muslim world. It aims to protest Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem.
But the Met’s Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said it was “uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organized by the Islamic Human Rights Commission.”
He claimed that the organization was “supportive of the Iranian regime.”
“The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly,” Adelekan said.
He noted the Met has “a proven track record” of permitting free speech and protest rights at dozens of major pro-Palestinian and other demonstrations in recent years.
“But in our assessment this march raises unique risks and challenges,” he said.
“We must consider the likely high numbers of protesters and counter protesters coming together and the extreme tensions between different factions.
“We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas.”
The ban on the march and any associated counter-protest marches is valid for a month from Wednesday.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.