The BBC’s broadcast of Bob Vylan’s “death, death to the IDF” chants was a “chilling violation”, a relative of a victim of the October 7 attacks has said.
Bobby Vylan, who is one half of punk rap duo Bob Vylan, led crowds at the West Holts Stage chants of “death, death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces) on Saturday.
The pair’s performance at the festival led to a police assessment and condemnation from festival organisers, as well as MPs and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, was consulted over what to do about the performance, who said it should not be made available on demand.
Despite this, the livestream containing the chanting remained available on iPlayer for another five hours.
Stephen Brisley’s sister, Lianne Sharabi, and nieces, Noiya, 16, and Yahel, 13, were murdered by Hamas on October 7. His brother-in-law, Eli Sharabi, was recently released from captivity.
He said the BBC’s broadcast was “shocking and deeply painful” and acted as a “brutal reminder of the murders that shattered our family”.
“To have that broadcast live, unfiltered, into our home by the national broadcaster felt like a chilling violation,” Mr Brisley told The Telegraph.
While he said “intelligent, balanced discussion” about the Israel-Hamas conflict should be welcomed, Mr Brisley described the “blanket hatred” shouted at the festival, attended by children and families, as a “cruel erasure of grief on both sides”.
Liran Berman, whose brothers, Ziv and Gali, are still in captivity, said the BBC should have stopped broadcasting the moment the IDF chants started.
“The people at Glastonbury should be ashamed of themselves, shouting ‘death to the IDF’,” he told The Telegraph.
Bob Vylan had their US visas revoked before their tour later this year and have since been dropped by their agency.
The BBC issued a statement on Monday as it came under spiralling pressure over its decision to continue broadcasting the rap dup’s show.
They said: “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury's condemnation of the performance.”
When asked about whether BBC boss Tim Davie should resign, Mr Berman said: “I don’t think it is for me to decide whether someone should lose their job.”
However, he did say the BBC has “apologised more than once or twice for putting out misinformation about Israel” in the months since the October 7 attacks.
He said that a “slap on the wrist” is not acceptable and that action needs to be taken.
Sharone Lifschitz’s parents were kidnapped from the Nir Oz kibbutz. Her 85-year-old mother, Yocheved, was later released alive. The body of her father, Oded, 83, was returned in February.
She said the incident at Glastonbury was “sad on several levels” and has “further eroded” trust in the BBC.
Yesterday, Bob Vylan said they were being “targeted for speaking up” and said the storm around the performance was a “distraction” from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
“We are not for the death of jews, arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine,” they said in a statement.
“A machine whose own soldiers were told to use “unnecessary lethal force” against innocent civilians waiting for aid. A machine that has destroyed much of Gaza.
“We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story. And whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction.”
The full statement by the BBC read: “Millions of people tuned in to enjoy Glastonbury this weekend across the BBC's output but one performance within our live streams included comments that were deeply offensive.
“The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.
“The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves. We welcome Glastonbury's condemnation of the performance.
“The performance was part of a live stream of the West Holts stage on BBC iPlayer. The judgement on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines.
“In addition, we took the decision not to make the performance available on demand. The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.
“In light of this weekend, we will look at our guidance around live events so we can be sure teams are clear on when it is acceptable to keep output on air.”
