This year’s Glastonbury was always going to ruffle a few feathers. A cultural event with hundreds of thousands of people, being broadcast to the entire country, while the world is teetering on world war three? Couple that with the fact that “controversial” Belfast rap group Kneecap were on the billing and outrage was almost guaranteed. But it wasn’t Kneecap who pushed people over the edge in the end. Ironically, it was the last performer they’d decided to film before cutting the stream: Bob Vylan.
After leading chants of Free Palestine (which have been standard at sets across Glastonbury weekend) singer Bobbie Vylan asked the crowd: “But have you heard this one?” before shouting “Death to the IDF” and encouraging fans to respond. Some did, some didn’t. People were conflicted. But that didn’t matter. The clip went viral immediately, with a handful of utter mentalists online comparing it to the Nuremberg rallies, where Nazis would spread their ideology and military propaganda. Once again, ironic, considering who are the ones accused of committing genocide at the moment. But, logic aside, the response was enough to get Emily Eavis involved, who issued a statement saying that the chants “crossed a line”. “There is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she said.
It was an unexpected and disappointing statement from the festival organisers, who previously stood firm (and unpartisan) behind Kneecap’s set when there were calls to cancel it. It also incorrectly labelled Vylan as an anti-Semite when he was very clearly addressing the Israel Defence Forces, who are currently accused of committing “the gravest war crimes” in Gaza, not all Jewish people.
I’m not saying I agree with the chant — I didn’t sing along to it, and I do think Vylan made a mistake by singing it, because an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. But the punishment for genocide is death, something we also know from Nuremberg. The trials. Not the rallies.
His words didn’t help the pro-Palestine cause, which struggles to get fair coverage as it is. Giving people ammunition to make this look like a fair fight, when it is very much not, only sets us back. But Emily Eavis’s comments disappointed me just as much as Vylan’s.
She shouldn’t have got involved. Glastonbury is a protest festival with longstanding links to nuclear disarmament, as well as other causes. It is about peace, which is why I understand the Bob Vylan comments “crossed a line”, but to call them out without any acknowledgement of the genocide is also anti-peace. How can you so publicly condemn “hate speech” but not actual violence?
Let people make their own minds up about Vylan and his comments, but it isn’t a Glastonbury issue. Emily Eavis should have let it play out, but she bowed to pressure instead. I’m sure there was a *lot* of pressure to say something, but considering her festival is currently littered with Palestine flags, her response feels completely out of touch.
