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Israeli embassy 'deeply disturbed' by Bob Vylan's'death to the IDF'Glastonbury chant

The government and the Tories have condemned the outburst - which happened in front of thousands at the festival's West Holts Stage.

Sunday 29 June 2025 10:55, UK

The Israeli embassy has said it's "deeply disturbed" by chants of "death to the IDF" at Glastonbury - as police also investigate the incident.

Video shows one of the members of Bob Vylan shouting the slogan into the mic and some of the crowd joining in.

The duo were performing ahead of a performance by Kneecap, the Irish act who the prime minister said should be ditched from the line-up.

"The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival," a statement said.

It said slogans like Saturday's chant "advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel".

Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage. Pic: PA

Image:

The BBC said some of the comments by Bob Vylan were 'deeply offensive'. Pic: PA

The post on X added: "When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence."

Avon and Somerset Police said they are looking at whether a criminal offence was committed by the group, whose X bio describes them as a "punk/rap/alt thing".

"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the force said in a post on social media.

Bob Vylan also performed in front of a screen quoting a claim that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC boss Tim Davie for an "urgent explanation" about what due diligence it carried out into Bob Vylan.

Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday on behalf of the government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as "appalling" and a "shameless publicity stunt".

"The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival - when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive," he said in reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival.

He added that while "there's no justification for inciting violence against Israelis… the way in which Israel's conducting this war has made it extremely difficult for Israel's allies around the world to stand by and justify".

"I'd also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order, in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," he told Phillips.

https://news.sky.com/story/israeli-embassy-deeply-disturbed-by-bob-vylans-death-to-the-idf-glastonbury-chant-13389912