Bob Vylan backlash: Britain is more worried about words than war crimes

Middle East Eye

11 hours ago

The controversy ignited by Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performance - specifically the chant of 'death to the IDF', in reference to the Israeli army - has exposed far more than artistic outrage.
It has laid bare the limits of free speech in Britain when it comes to Palestine, the deep discomfort with confronting complicity, and the ease with which expressions of solidarity are demonised as hate.
Glastonbury has long served as a cultural platform for political protest. From the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to environmental justice, anti-poverty activism, women's rights and LGBTQ+ equality, it has never shied away from uncomfortable truths.
The festival's founder, Michael Eavis, famously said that if people don't like the politics of Glastonbury, they 'can go somewhere else'.
The festival also hosts a dedicated political space called Left Field, featuring daily debates and discussions on a wide range of issues. Over the years, the festival has witnessed powerful political moments, from solidarity with striking miners in the 1980s to a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022.
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Challenging the established order and exposing political complicity is part of Glastonbury's DNA. But this year, a stark double standard was revealed.
While the BBC aired without fuss performer Jade's use of an expletive that many view as demeaning to women, Bob Vylan's words highlighting Palestinian suffering drew national outrage. The BBC removed Bob Vylan's performance from its online player, condemned it as antisemitic, and issued a swift apology.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it 'appalling hate speech'. The Israeli embassy denounced it. Bob Vylan's US visas were revoked. A criminal investigation was launched over the performances of both Bob Vylan and Irish rappers Kneecap.
Unmistakable message
This was not merely a response to offensive language. It was a coordinated move to shut down political expression that challenges British and western complicity in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza.
And while condemnation rained down over a musician's angry words, that same week, Israeli soldiers admitted to killing civilians trying to collect food in Gaza - food that was being systematically denied to Palestinians by the Israeli army.
The message was unmistakable: words exposing inhumanity against Palestinians are more dangerous to the establishment than the massive violence being inflicted on Palestinians.
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It's not that Bob Vylan's language was polite. It wasn't meant to be. Protest art rarely is. But to call it 'hate speech' while remaining silent on Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu invoking genocidal rhetoric, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referencing a biblical call for extermination, and Israeli pop singers calling for the death of Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa, is to reveal not a moral compass, but a political agenda.
This isn't about preserving civility. It's about preserving Israeli genocidal narratives. It's about protecting the violent Israeli army from criticism by framing its opponents as dangerous, hateful or extreme.
Bob Vylan's chant wasn't a policy proposal nor material support. It was a cry of desperation, born from a sense of urgency and horror at a crisis unfolding in real time. In Gaza over the past 21 months, most homes have been devastated; schools, universities and hospitals have been destroyed; and more than 57,418 Palestinians have been killed, with more than 130,000 injured.
It's about who is allowed to speak, what words are acceptable, what truths are allowed to be told, and which lives are deemed worth defending
The reaction provoked by the words of Bob Vylan says more about Britain's discomfort with confronting its own complicity in the Gaza crisis than it does about any supposed incitement.
This furore came in a week when the government proscribed the non-violent direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist group, alongside two violent extremist organisations. This is a shocking attack on the right to protest in the UK.
And that's the deeper danger. The ban on Palestine Action, and the intense rhetorical response to Bob Vylan's performance, illustrate a growing effort to police the boundaries of acceptable speech, especially when it concerns Palestinian rights. Glastonbury, once a sanctuary for protest and dissent, risks being neutralised, its radical edge dulled to align with the establishment.
If charges against Bob Vylan and Kneecap follow, it will send a chilling message to artists, activists and audiences alike: solidarity not only with Palestine, but with all issues not supported by the powerful elite, is a line you must not cross.
When words are punished more severely than war crimes and potential genocide, we should all be alarmed. Because this isn't just about a few words at a festival performance; it's about who is allowed to speak, what words are acceptable, what truths are allowed to be told, and which lives are deemed worth defending.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.