Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis has condemned anti-IDF chants made by performer Bob Vylan on the U.Ok. music pageant.
The rap duo have come underneath hearth for encouraging audiences on the occasion in Somerset, England, to affix in on shouting “death to the IDF” [the Israel Defense Forces] throughout their set on the West Holts stage on Saturday.
Eavis, the youngest daughter of Glastonbury Festival co-founder Michael Eavis, posted to Instagram on Sunday to say that the group are “appalled” by the band’s conduct.
“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she wrote.
Eavis continued: “As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism — we will always believe in — and actively campaign for — hope, unity, peace and love”, including a performer’s feedback “should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs… With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share.”
Bob Vylan aren’t the one act to attract consideration to the conflict in Gaza. At the identical stage on Saturday, Irish rap trio Kneecap voiced their pro-Palestine views and used the platform to criticize the U.Ok. and U.S. governments, in addition to the U.S. media.
They thanked the Eavis household for permitting them to play regardless of pushback from U.Ok. politicians, together with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. “A big thank you to the Eavis family,” Kneecap mentioned. “The pressure that that family was under and they stood strong. Fair play to them.”
In May, the Met Police mentioned it could examine after on-line movies confirmed the band calling for the dying of British parliament ministers, in addition to chanting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” It is against the law within the U.Ok. to specific help for Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and army group in Lebanon, as it’s thought of a terrorist group in Britain.
Glastonbury Festival runs Jun. 25-29.
