U.K. Culture Sec. condemns Bob Vylan Glastonbury performance, demands answers from BBC
The British culture minister condemned punk-rap duo Bob Vylan during a June 30 statement to Parliament that noted that statements made during a June 28 performance at the Glastonbury festival were under criminal investigation.
"Let me be clear that this government will not tolerate anti-Semitism," Lisa Nandy, U.K. Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, told the House of Commons from the Labour's dispatch box. "It has no place in our society. It is a poison and a cancer that must be rooted out, and we will be relentless in our work to do so."
Avon and Somerset Police said in a June 30 statement that "further enquiries are required and a criminal investigation is now being undertaken" regarding the performances of Bob Vylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap.
Bob Vylan led chants of "Death, death, to the IDF" referring to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military. Kneecap frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh led chants against Labour Prime Minister Kier Starmer and accused Israel of committing war crimes, saying: "There's no hiding it."
The U.S. State Department revoked the visas of Bob Vylan members on June 30, citing the performance.
Culture secretary demands answers from BBC, health secretary tells Israel to get "house in order"
Nandy told the Commons that she would seek answers from the BBC, which streamed the festival, on why the feed from the West Holts stage was not cut.
"Given the concerns regarding other acts in the weeks preceding the festival, why the feed wasn't immediately cut when the chants of death to the IDF began and what due diligence was done prior to the decision to broadcast this particular act to the nation," Nandy said.
The BBC said in a statement condemning the performance that it regretted not pulling the stream.
"The judgment on Saturday to issue a warning on screen while streaming online was in line with our editorial guidelines," the broadcaster said. "The team were dealing with a live situation but with hindsight we should have pulled the stream during the performance."
Glastonbury organizers condemned Bob Vylan's performance in a June 29 Instagram post.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it was appalling that the comments had been made on stage, adding that he was also appalled by the violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"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," Streeting told Sky News. "I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens toward Palestinians more seriously."
Contributing: Reuters