How the antisemitic meltdown at the Glastonbury Festival unfolded
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It was not yet centred on Bob Vylan, the rap duo who are newly infamous for leading the audience at Britain's leading summer pop cultural event in a chant calling for death to Israeli soldiers, but who on Saturday were a downticket entry on the West Holts stage, which showcases reggae, hip hop, jazz, beats and electronica.
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The most pressing concern was about a similar protest from Kneecap, the Northern Irish rap trio, one of whose members faces a terrorism charge for flying a Hezbollah flag at a show in London last year. That charge prompted U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say Kneecap's presence on this year's Glastonbury lineup was 'inappropriate.'
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So when the British Broadcasting Corporation belatedly said it regrets not pulling its live broadcast during Bob Vylan's anti-Israel provocations, it is not because it did not expect controversy over the Mideast at all. The BBC had already decided not to broadcast Kneecap live. And just last week, BBC Director-General Tim Davie announced new editorial guidelines about hate speech, including that broadcasting it could constitute a criminal offence, if it is 'intended to stir up hatred relating to religious belief.'
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What followed, then, was predictable if not specifically expected. Avon and Somerset Police have announced a criminal investigation under hate crime law into Bob Vylan's performance, which is classed as a 'public order incident.'
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'All right, but have you heard this one though? Death Death to the IDF,' he said.
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IDF is the Israel Defense Forces. He repeated it five times, backed similarly by some of the audience, then said, 'hell yeah, from the river to the sea, Palestine must be, will be, inshallah, it will be free.'
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He also spoke to the audience about working for 'f—ing Zionists' at his record label.
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Festival organizers said they were 'appalled,' and that Bob Vylan's behaviour went against its mission of 'hope, unity, peace and love.'
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