Bob Vylan and Kneecap sparked fury with their politically charged sets in which they criticised Israel’s military action in Gaza, prompting police to probe video footage from the festival
A British MP has called for the BBC to pull its coverage of Glastonbury after punk duo Bob Vylan led chants of “Death to the IDF” in scenes streamed live.
Singer Bobby Vylan — who keeps his true identity secret — sparked fury by also singing “from the river to the sea Palestine… will be free” on the West Holts Stage on Saturday.
The slogan is seen as a “a call for peace and equality” in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Pro-Palestinian activities, but many Jews it is seen as a call for the destruction of Israel. Terror group Hamas — responsible for the October 7 massacre — used the phrase in its 2017 charter.
The IDF — Israel Defence Forces — is the national military of the State of Israel, which launched a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip following the terror attacks that killed almost 1,200 people.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed they were investigating video from the set and the politically charged performed from Irish rap trio Kneecap on the same stage immediately afterwards. Both acts performed to huge crowds waving Palestinian flags.
And former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, who now sits as an independent, has written to the BBC demanding they withdraw future coverage.
In a letter she shared on Twitter, Lowe asked director-general Tim Davie to “issue an apology” to licence fee payers.
He wrote: “I am writing to express deep concern regarding the BBC’s coverage of this year’s Glastonbury Festival, specifically the broadcast of comments made on stage which appeared to incite violence, and other offensive remarks.
“It raises serious questions about your compliance with the BBC’s legal and moral obligations. The BBC is not a private broadcaster. It is a public service institution funded by licence fee payers of all political persuasions.
“Viewers do not expect, nor should they be subjected to, political propaganda or dangerous rhetoric.
“The BBC’s continued association with Glastonbury in its current form risks furthering your reputation of a decaying monopoly.”
He said he urged the BBC to “immediately review the editorial decisions that allowed this content to be aired” and “withdraw future BBC coverage of Glastonbury.”
He went on: “Evidently, the event is not what it once was. I do not see why licence fee payers should be forced to support such blatant politicisation and filth.
“I look forward to your response and to seeing tangible steps taken to restore the BBC’s reputation as a trustworthy and responsible broadcaster.”
The demand comes after Israeli politicians also slammed the Beeb for allowing the comments to air.
The Isreali Embassy in the UK tweeted on Saturday night that it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival”.
It added: “When speech crosses into incitement, hatred and advocacy of ethnic cleansing, it must be called out—especially when amplified by public figures on prominent platforms.
“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.
“We call on Glastonbury Festival organisers, artists, and public leaders in the UK to denounce this rhetoric and reject of all forms of hatred.”
And Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, told The Mail on Sunday: “I condemn the BBC for continuing to live-stream anti-Israel hate speech from Glastonbury.
“What do you think the BBC would have done had a performer been shouting anti-Muslim or far-Right hate speech? They would have pulled the feed.
“But because the target is Israel – let’s be honest, because it’s Jews – it’s tolerated, even broadcast. This is clearly incitement.”
The Bob Vylan set came immediately before controversial group Kneecap, which the corporation refused to show live over fears of what they would say on stage, having previously been critical of Israeli’s military actions and the horrors endured by Palestinians in Gaza, which has seen aid severely restricted
Singer Mo Chara, real name Liam Og O hAnnaidh, was charged under the Terrorism Act after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah while saying “up Hamas, up Hezbollah” during a gig in Kentish Town last November.
He was released on unconditional bail, but PM Sir Keir Starmer was among a host of politicians who called for Kneecap’s set to be pulled from the festival line-up.
He wore a keffiyeh on stage and told fans: “I’m a free man”, before later saying: “The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn’t want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.”
And bandmate JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore a t-shirt that read “We are all Palestine Action”, in reference to the campaign group set to be proscribed as a terror organisation after spraying military jets with red paint at an RAF base.
A BBC spokesman 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.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
