Cupboard minister Wes Streeting has criticised the “demise to the IDF” chants that broke out at Glastonbury 2025, however has additionally advised the Israeli embassy to “get its personal home so as”.
Punk duo Bob Vylan performed the West Holts stage yesterday afternoon (June 28), forward of Kneecap’s extremely anticipated efficiency, which the BBC had confirmed earlier within the day wouldn’t be broadcast stay.
All through the efficiency, political slogans had been projected onto the display screen behind them, together with “Free Palestine – United Nations have known as it a genocide – the BBC calls it a ‘battle’”.
After the group broke out in a number of chants of “free, free Palestine”, frontman Bobby mentioned, “Have you ever heard this one?”, earlier than main a chant of “demise, demise to the IDF”, referring to the Israeli Protection Forces.
Bobby additionally mentioned: “We’re not pacifist punks right here over at Bob Vylan Enterprises,” referencing lyrics from their 2023 single ‘Censored (Interlude)’. “We’re the violent punks, as a result of generally you gotta get your message throughout with violence as a result of that’s the solely language some individuals converse, sadly.”
Stay on BBC: pic.twitter.com/ao8gMzzbii
— ashok | ಅಶೋಕ್ 🇵🇸 (@broseph_stalin) June 28, 2025
The Well being Secretary has now condemned the “appalling” chants, but in addition criticised the embassy over the conduct of some Israeli residents within the occupied West Financial institution. Talking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Streeting mentioned he believed the BBC and Glastonbury had “inquiries to reply” over what he deemed a “shameless publicity stunt”
“I assumed it was appalling, to be trustworthy, and I believe the BBC and Glastonbury have gotten inquiries to reply about how we noticed such a spectacle on our screens,” he mentioned of Bob Vylan’s set.
“However I additionally suppose it’s a fairly shameless publicity stunt, which I don’t actually need to give an excessive amount of indulgence to for that cause.”
Per Sky Information, he mentioned focus ought to as an alternative be turned on “Israeli settler terrorists” attacking a Christian village simply weeks after setting it on hearth. “I’d additionally say to the Israeli embassy, get your individual home so as, by way of the conduct of your individual residents and the settlers within the West Financial institution.”
— ashok | ಅಶೋಕ್ 🇵🇸 (@broseph_stalin) June 28, 2025
Earlier right now, the embassy mentioned it was “deeply disturbed” by the anti-IDF chants, which at the moment are being investigated by the police because the pageant enters its third day. “The Embassy of Israel in the UK is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage on the Glastonbury Pageant,” a press release learn.
Streeting continued: “I believe there’s a critical level there by the Israeli embassy, I take severely. I want they’d take the violence of their very own residents in the direction of Palestinians extra severely.
“All of us condemned and proceed to sentence what occurred on 7 October. All of us need to see the return of the hostages. And there’s no justification for inciting violence towards Israelis.
“However you understand, the way in which by which Israel’s conducting this warfare has made it extraordinarily troublesome for Israel’s allies all over the world to face by and justify. Actually, we’ve acquired to do the other as a global group, which is to problem and urge a change.”
The Embassy of Israel in the UK is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage on the Glastonbury Pageant.
Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democracy. However when speech crosses into incitement, hatred, and advocacy of ethnic…
— Israel within the UK 🇮🇱🤝🇬🇧 (@IsraelinUK) June 28, 2025
Israel has been finishing up a full-scale army marketing campaign on occupied Gaza for nearly two years, following the October 2023 assault by Hamas on the Israeli music pageant Supernova the place 1,195 individuals had been killed.
The UN has discovered Israel’s army actions to be in step with genocide, and not less than 56,000 Palestinians have been killed, in keeping with the Gaza Well being Ministry. Because the battle continues to escalate, Israel continues to disclaim allegations of genocide and warfare crimes towards the individuals of Palestine, within the wake of the October 7 assaults.
Glastonbury has issued its personal assertion on the Bob Vylan set, saying they had been “appalled” by the chants.
“Glastonbury Pageant was created in 1970 as a spot for individuals to come back collectively and rejoice in music, the humanities and the perfect of human endeavour,” it started. “As a pageant, we stand towards all types of warfare and terrorism. We are going to all the time imagine in – and actively marketing campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love.
“With nearly 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there’ll inevitably be artists and audio system showing on our levels whose views we don’t share, and a performer’s presence right here ought to by no means be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs,” the assertion continued.
It went on to say: “Nevertheless, we’re appalled by the statements produced from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday.
“Their chants very a lot crossed a line and we’re urgently reminding everybody concerned within the manufacturing of the Pageant that there isn’t any place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
Bob Vylan’s set preceded Kneecap’s, which made headlines within the lead-up to the pageant, after a number of MPs, together with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, known as on Glastonbury to tug the band from the line-up this weekend.
Glasto co-organiser Emily Eavis responded by saying “everyone seems to be welcome”, and her father, pageant founder Michael Eavis, added: “People who don’t agree with the politics of the occasion can go elsewhere!”
The controversy surrounding Kneecap’s set stems from their defiant pro-Palestinian remarks at Coachella in April. Since then, band member Mo Chara – actual title Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – has been charged with a terror offence, for which he appeared in court docket final week.
Opening their set, Mo Chara declared: “Glastonbury, I’m a free man,” nodding to being given unconditional bail from his first look on his terror cost. Looking on the sea of Palestinian flags being waved, he later wished the BBC editor “good luck” with enhancing them out of the footage.
