The UK police checks Glastonbury videos for anti-Semitism calls

The UK police checks Glastonbury videos for anti-Semitism calls

The British police have announced that the statements of the rap-punk duo Bob Vylan and the hip-hop trio Kneecap, which were made during this year's Glastonbury Festival. Rapper Bobby Vylan performed on Saturday on the third largest stage, the West Holts Stage, and called into the crowd: "Free, free Palestine" before spitting the audience to protests against the Israeli military.

controversy about Vylan's statements

In a video it was seen how the rapper called into the microphone: "Have you heard that? Death, death for IDF (Israeli defense forces)." During his performance he stood in front of a screen that showed a message: "The United Nations described it as genocide. The BBC calls it a 'conflict'." He alluded to the reporting of the British public service broadcast, which transferred the festival live.

criticism of the Israeli ambassador

The Israeli message in the United Kingdom expressed itself "deeply affected" about the statements at the festival described as "provocative and hateful". The message emphasized that the call after "Death for the IDF" in front of tens of thousands of festival visitors raised serious concerns about the normalization of extremist language and the glorification of violence. She asked the organizers of the Glastonbury Festival, artists and public leaders in the United Kingdom to condemn this rhetoric and reject any form of hatred.

reaction of the festival organizers

The organizers of the Glastonbury Festival stated in a statement that they were "horrified" about Vylan's statements. "Your calls have clearly exceeded a border. We are urgently reminiscent of the festival production that there is no place for anti -Semitism, hate speech or impact on violence at the Glastonbury Festival," said the organizers.

KNECAP and the context of your performance

Before the five-day music festival, all eyes were aimed at the Irish-speaking hip-hop trio Kneecap, especially after band member Liam O’hanna, who appeared under the artist's name Mo Chara, was accused of the metropolitan policy in London last month. This accusation he denies is related to a appearance in London in November 2024, in which he allegedly presented a flag of Hezbollah - a terrorist organization banned in Great Britain.

political controversy around Kneecap

Before the festival, British Prime Minister Keir Strander said that he said that he believed it is "not reasonable" that the group occurs. Kneecap has positioned itself as a loud critic of the war of Israel in Gaza, but asserts that they have never supported Hamas or Hezbollah. During her set, Mo Chara explained to the audience that the recent events were "stressful", but compared to what the Palestinian people made through.

protests and reactions during the appearance

KNEACAP rapper Naoise O Cairallain, who bears the artist name Móglaí Bap, pointed out during the appearance on Starer’s comments: "The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said that he did not want us to play, i.e. f ** K Keir Straer." With regard to the upcoming court appointment of his bandmate, O Cairallain also explained that they would start "an uprising before the court", added: "I don't want someone to start an uprising. No uprising, just love and support, and above all support for Palestine."

reactions of the authorities and media

The police in Somerset, where the festival takes place, said that it was "informed about the artists' statements" and that "video recordings are checked by civil servants to determine whether crimes may have been committed who required criminal investigation." The British Health Minister Wes Streeting described the appearance in an interview with Sky News on Sunday as "frightening" and found that the BBC, which transferred the appearance live, had "answered questions". A spokesman for the BBC said that some of the comments made during Vylan's appearance were "extremely offensive" and that there are no plans to make the performance available via the IPLAYER streaming platform.