UK govt condemns 'Death to the IDF' chant aired at Glastonbury
GLASTONBURY, United Kingdom: The UK government said on Sunday that the BBC had questions to answer over criticism of Israel by musicians at Glastonbury festival that police are probing.
UK officers are studying videos of rapper Bobby Vylan leading crowds in chants of "Death, death to the IDF", a reference to the acronym for the Israeli army, during his set on Saturday.
They are also examining comments by outspoken Irish rap trio Kneecap, one of whose members wore a T-shirt dedicated to Palestine Action Group, which is about to be banned under UK terror laws.
The IDF chants, condemned by the Israeli embassy in London, were broadcast on the BBC, which airs coverage of Britain's most popular music festival.
"I thought it's appalling, to be honest, and I think the BBC and Glastonbury have got questions to answer about how we saw such a spectacle on our screens," UK minister Wes Streeting told Sky News.
The Israel embassy said in a statement late Saturday "it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival."
But Streeting, Labour's health secretary, 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 towards Palestinians more seriously," he said, citing settler violence in the West Bank.
A spokesperson for the BBC said some of the comments by Vylan, part of British duo Bob Vylan, were "deeply offensive" and the broadcaster had "no plans to make the performance available on demand."
Avon and Somerset police said Saturday that video evidence would be assessed by officers "to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation."
Kneecap, who have made headlines in recent months with their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance, led crowds in a chant against UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Starmer 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 offence.
He appeared in court earlier this month accused of having displayed a Hizbollah flag while saying "Up Hamas, Up Hizbollah" after a video resurfaced of a London concert last year.
The Iran-backed Lebanese force Hizbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas are banned in the UK, and it is an offence to express support for them.
O'Hanna has denied the charge and told the Guardian in an interview published Friday that "it was a joke – we're playing characters."
Kneecap regularly lead crowds in chants of "Free Palestine" during their concerts. Their fans revere them for their anti-establishment stance and criticism of British imperialism but critics call them extremists.
The group apologised this year after a 2023 video emerged appearing to show one singer calling for the death of British Conservative lawmakers.--AFP
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