As relentless bombardment and mass killings continue in Gaza, with entire neighbourhoods wiped out and children buried under rubble, the corporate media and political establishment have once again shown where their true priorities lie: policing language at a music festival.
Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis rushed to condemn rap duo Bob Vylan after they chanted “death to the IDF” during their Saturday set on the West Holts stage. Eavis described the moment as “crossing a line” and quickly reminded everyone that “there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech, or incitement to violence.” The festival, she stressed, stands for “hope, unity, peace and love.”
Yet, the establishment’s immediate reaction to a slogan at a music festival stands in stark contrast to their continued silence – or active complicity – in the face of Israel’s military onslaught, widely condemned by human rights organisations as amounting to war crimes and possibly genocide.
Bob Vylan’s performance, streamed live on the BBC, featured the slogan alongside visual messages accusing Israel of carrying out “genocide” in Gaza. Some of the crowd joined in. This, rather than the actual mass killing of civilians, is what sparked headlines and hand-wringing from politicians and mainstream outlets.
The Israeli embassy swiftly condemned the chant, calling it “inflammatory” and accusing it of advocating for the “dismantling of the State of Israel.” Notably absent from their statement: any mention of the thousands of Palestinians killed, displaced, or starved.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) announced it would file a formal complaint against the BBC for broadcasting the performance – once again illustrating how establishment outrage is reserved for the language of protest, not the crimes that provoke it.
Police have also become involved, with Avon and Somerset officers reviewing whether the performance crossed into criminal territory. When state violence massacres civilians, it’s called self-defence; when artists shout slogans, it’s a potential police matter.
Bob Vylan performed just before Irish rap group Kneecap, another target of political censorship. The Prime Minister and other senior figures demanded Kneecap be removed from festival line-ups over their alleged support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah – a demand ignored by Glastonbury. The BBC refused to broadcast Kneecap’s set live, though it later appeared on iPlayer.
One of Kneecap’s members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, is currently facing terror charges after allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a previous event. On Saturday, his bandmate Naoise Ó Cairealláin urged the crowd to “start a riot outside the courts” before quickly clarifying, “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.” But the establishment’s appetite for criminalising pro-Palestinian expression has already been well demonstrated.
Media Scramble to Suppress Broadcast
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy demanded an “urgent explanation” from BBC Director-General Tim Davie over why the performance was broadcast in the first place, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as “appalling” and a “shameless publicity stunt.”
Streeting, while briefly acknowledging the brutality of Israel’s war in Gaza, quickly pivoted back to condemnation of protestors. In an astonishing display of moral contortion, he even had the gall to lecture the Israeli embassy to “get your own house in order” — as though that neatly balances the scales.
Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch declared the chant “grotesque” and warned that “the West is playing with fire” by allowing such “behaviour” to go unchecked. Apparently, it is not the bombardment of civilians, nor the use of starvation as a weapon of war, but protest slogans that now pose the greatest threat to the social order.
Speaking on Sky News, audience member Lucy McMullin captured the core tension: “When there are children and civilians being murdered and starved, I think it’s important that people are speaking out on these issues. However, inciting more death and violence is not the way to do it.”
The BBC has since confirmed that the Bob Vylan performance will not be made available on demand, stating: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.” This is the same BBC that, at best, tiptoes around using the word “genocide” when it comes to describing Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Where the Outrage Lives
This story is a stark reminder of where mainstream priorities lie: not with the mass slaughter of Palestinians, nor with the suffering of children trapped under siege, but with the boundaries of what is acceptable to say about it.
The violence that is tolerated, excused, and even funded by Western governments provokes little more than cautious political statements. But a chant at a music festival? That’s where the system draws the line. That’s where the police get involved. That’s where the headlines explode.
For the corporate media and political class, mass murder is background noise. The real crime, it seems, is calling it out.
